Batwoman, Wonder Woman: Legacy
by ScarletStrange
Summary: Following the two heroes throught the Legacy storyline!
1. Chapter 1

NOTE: Following the Legacy series, set after chapter 17 of the Supergirl story (will make sense without it too for sure)

Supergirl - s/12611322/1/Supergirl-Legacy

* * *

"Gross."

"What?" Beth smiled at her sister, who was now precisely faking her disgust.

"Sometimes I could swear that you are not my twin." Kate looked at her all serious.

"You love it."

"I love a lot of things but your stories with Clayface are definitely not on the list." She stretched her neck and groaned when the loud cracking followed after her movement. The last few days she always woke up sore. Obviously being Batwoman was exhausting, especially after all that happened in National City but Kate was happy for Maggie. She really was... Beth, was however, staring at her, not saying a word.

"Talk." Kate exhaled.

"You look like shit." Beth was never one to sugar-coat things.

"Huh." The redhead scoffed, "I also feel like shit."

"Take a break then."

"Not that easy…" She shook her head; sulking back into the sofa.

"Bullshit sis, other people can handle Gotham for a while."

"Others?" Soft laugh escaped from Kate's throat, "Like...Red Alice?"

"Oh no…" Beth stopped her immediately, "Red Alice is...not a hero…"

"Maybe if she would come along more often, she could be." Kate wasn't someone who would abandon family. She knew that Beth's past was dark but she was just really happy that her sister was alive. There was a time in the past when she thought she lost her.. After she fell from that plane…

Kate closed her eyes for a moment, getting rid of the memories that found their way into her mind. The room was silent but she appreciated that her twin knew when to stay quiet. Unwillingly she reached out for Beth's hand; It took only a second before an unearthly cold hand squeezed hers. Ever since Beth came back, the temperature of her body was low. At first, Kate was worried about it but now she was used to it. She felt the same about the pale skin, even though that could be a family trait. She let out content sigh, ready to go fulfill her duties as Batwoman.

"So you are not coming?"

"No...I think that I'll go have some fun tonight."

"Okay…" Kate looked a little confused, "What is more fun than beating up a few guys?"

"Movies?" She shrugged and laughed at her sister's horrified expression, "Kate...when was the last time you actually fought someone?"

"Ouch." The redhead sneered.

"I'm serious, lately you just run around, looking for your mystery villain."

"Well, you don't think it's weird?" Kate threw her hands up in the air.

"That you can't remember the whole night?"

"I didn't drink…" She rolled her eyes after seeing Beth's mocking grin.

"Did it happen again?"

"No...no I'm just tired…"

"The headaches?"

"Yeah...I could use some rest but first I have to figure this out and all the naps that I have to take during...work...are not making it easier."

Beth stood up from the sofa and walked over to the window. It did seem weird but that was Gotham. And Beth liked Gotham.

* * *

" _Are you even listening to me?"_

"Yes...yes, I'm here." Kate groaned, leaning forward on the handlebars of her bike.

" _You have to focus."_

"I know...it's just…" She trailed off in her thoughts, completely ignoring her father. The pulsing pain in the back of her head was gaining intensity.

" _Is...is everything okay? Kate?"_ The tentative voice was coming from her phone, after a while of silence.

"Dad, I-I don't think that I'll go out tonight…" She rubbed the back of her neck as her gaze settled on the mask in her hand. Gotham will have to survive without Batwoman for one night, "Just a headache...don't worry."

" _Kate, that is the third time this week...don't you think that it's about time to visit-"_

"Dad please…" The redhead whined as she slowly moved towards the small couch in the middle of her batcave, "I need to sleep."

Kate ended the call and fell on the couch. Her eyes closed immediately afterwards, trying to fight the loud thudding in her head. The mask was hanging between her fingers.

Everything was quiet. She managed to take a few deep breaths, before she was unable to keep herself awake anymore.

* * *

 _"Gotham's newest criminal did strike again last night. This mysterious villain has been terrorizing the city for the last ten days following Batman's unexpected absence. His motives are still unknown but for now it appears that the person behind those attacks is more than content with the destruction of public property and assaulting unsuspecting civilians but the incidents are gaining on intensity. Where is Batman or at least the rest of the Gotham's heroes? Stay with me and I promise to find out!"_

Kate woke up on the floor; even though she was fairly certain that she fell asleep on the couch. The mask was carefully placed on the small table; she looked around, feeling more tired than when she decided to take a nap and on top of that she also felt densely confused. Her eyes settled on the small TV across the table; Kate didn't remember even considering watching TV but for some reason it was turned on and it was broadcasting news with Vicki Vale. She waited till the end of the 'mysterious villain' segment then rested her back against the couch. Her fingers absent-mindedly found her phone and she glanced briefly at the time. _9 am._ A groan escaped from her throat, she slept through a whole night. Again.

 _"And don't forget the GCPD gala tonight, all our famous officers will be there and so will I! This is Vicki Va-"_

She turned off the screen, Vicki's grin was forcing her stomach to flip upside down. Kate was dedicated to Gotham, especially now, when Batman had an urgent mission that required his presence really far away from the city. Although lately she was doing more sleeping than protecting. She jumped back to her feet and grudgingly walked over to the window, looking outside into the dirty streets.

"Huh...still standing." She smirked, part of her was feeling happy to be in Gotham and the other part was just happy to be. Seeing the city still standing after another night without Batwoman was comforting. A small smile settled on her lips as she proceeded to find some coffee.

It took her a while before she realized that she was still in her black hero suit. When she began removing her favorite outfit for nights, Kate noticed the small drops of blood all over her. An untrained eye would've probably missed it but that was not Kate's case. Cleaning the suit was a first thing she did whenever she returned; there was no reason for the blood to be there. She wasn't outside. She didn't fight anyone.

* * *

The gala was in the middle of the city. Kate passed several heavily armed cops before she reached the entrance. Getting into those events was harder as Kate than if she would appear as a Batwoman but frankly this fact was quite welcomed. She was always up for the challenge but this wasn't one of those times.

"Name?" The guy waiting in front of the door asked, while his eyes moved up and down her body.

"Kate Kane." She answered, disgusted by his cocky smile.

"Hmm..." He stared into the paper in his hand for a moment, "Oh, here you are, your father is already inside." He crossed out the name and gave her one last smile before stepping aside, allowing Kate to walk in.

The room was enormous. She stood on the stairs trying to find her dad but she wasn't successful. Instead she continued towards the few already drunk police officers right under the stairs, hoping that they might tell her some information about the villain. That was her only reason to visit an event like this; to get information. Occasionally it was to bring home a new woman to fuck but after her visit in National city, Kate wasn't really in the mood for a one night stand.

When she was about to join the group of drunk men, her eyes landed on the woman in the back of the room. She was tall, her dark hair tangled into a simple braid. The blue dress was complimenting her body at all the right places. Kate took a deep breath, hoping to ground herself when the woman look in her direction. She knew exactly who this woman was; the whole planet knew that but the whole planet was not lucky enough to get to talk with her. Kate slowly made her way through the crowd, keeping her eyes on the goddess who was now sipping wine like it was a completely normal thing for her to do. The redhead couldn't stop the growing smile on her face; even though she managed to keep it at least a little under control.

* * *

"You were there when Faust was caught, right?" Kate asked, not sure if it was the best start for the conversation.

"I did help..." a soft chuckle escaped the other woman's lips as she curiously watched Kate.

"I...uh...I am Kate..." She cleared her throat and mentally kicked herself.

"Diana."

"Wonder Woman." Kate breathed out, surprised and amused by the fact that she got to meet the hero so easily.

"Or that, yes." Diana nodded and tilted her head little to the side, clearly enjoying the attention. It didn't take long before both women were surrounded by a bunch of admirers. Kate couldn't even get to the small talk, not to mention asking how Diana defeated Felix Faust. She stood aside, waiting patiently for a moment when Wonder Woman will be left alone again. Unfortunately, the line of people who wanted to talk with the goddess and were attending this gala was endless. Kate scoffed, making sure that it was heard by most people in her reach but before she could walk away, police commissioner Gordon appeared on the stage. She took a few steps forward to get a better view.

The commissioner talked a lot, Kate actually stopped listening somewhere in the middle of his speech. He talked about Faust's arrest then he went on thanking everyone who was involved and that's where Kate lost the interest. The thudding in her head returned and she rubbed the back of her neck. Someone was standing way too close behind her, she shifted uncomfortably but the strong hand on her waist stopped her from turning around.

"Headache?" The gentle, calm voice filled her head. Kate wasn't sure if she could trust her mouth to talk, instead she gave the woman behind her a small nod, "You don't look like you are having fun..."

"This was more like a scavenger hunt."

"What were you hunting?" Diana moved closer, her voice was merely above whisper; trying to avoid interrupting the commissioner's speech.

"Information..." The redhead answered vaguely. Loud gasp instantly flew out of her when Diana's body suddenly pressed firmly into her back.

"I am sorry..." The Amazon smiled nonchalantly, her hand still on Kate's waist. Gordon stopped talking for a couple of seconds, waiting for people to walk to the other side of the room; several officers took the chance to 'unintentionally' touch the goddess as they passed them proceeding to the dance floor. For Diana it was a friendly gesture, but Kate's brain short-circuited, "Are you blushing?" She asked point blank, not even trying to make this more comfortable for the redhead.

"Well, you don't get to have a goddess this close every day, huh?" Kate managed to save her reputation; well at least a little bit.

"True." Diana let the last person walk by and took a step backwards, giving the other woman room to breathe.

"So, Kate, what kind of information?"

"About the new Gotham villain..." She didn't have to try hard to cover her identity as Batwoman but she always felt that it was harder with other heroes. Who was she kidding, Alex Danvers figured it out in no time.

"Want to join the crime fighting party?" Diana's laughter was energetic, her eyes roamed Kate's body as if she was deciding if the smaller woman could even fulfill the role of the hero.

"Maybe if you could teach me few moves." The redhead joked back, watching Diana in awe when she threw her head back and laughed; not caring that people were staring at them.

"Well, when are you free?" The Amazon kept the wide grin on her face.

"Tomorrow?"

"Alright." Wonder Woman had to fight really hard to not give into another wave of laughter as the face of the woman in front of her covered a huge spectrum of emotions in a few seconds., "The Kane building? Around noon?"

"Did...did you just agree?" She choked out.

"You thought I wouldn't?" Diana put her hand back around Kate's waist; walking towards a group of men, taking her companion with her, "Why would you ask if yo-"

"I thought we were just joking around." The redhead scolded herself immediately after the words left her mouth, thudding in her head returning with a bigger intensity.

"Relax." One of the waiters stopped and took the empty glass from Diana's hand, "I won't force you to go."

Kate didn't say anything after that, clearly caught up in her thoughts. How dangerous would it be to play this game? She already tried the double life once and it didn't work out great. Unfortunately, she didn't have any super powers at her disposal; she couldn't just go around and reveal her identity as Batwoman.

"Diana!" A familiar voice pulled her back to reality.

"Colonel Kane! It's nice to see you again." Diana was dragged into a quick hug.

"Dad?" Kate was looking at them, puzzled and maybe a little outraged that her dad never mentioned the fact that he knew Wonder Woman; or that they are at this level of friendly.

"You already met my daughter? I hope she wasn't bugging you too much." He practically snorted when Kate started pouting.

"Nonsense." Diana's hand drifted from Kate's waist up to her arm where she gently squeezed the bare skin before adding, "She's wonder-ful."

"Oh god…" The redhead rolled her eyes at Diana's bad joke but she couldn't stop the giggle fighting it's way out.

"Well then...I'll see you tomorrow?" The Amazon tilted her head and patiently waited for the answer; sparkling brown eyes looking directly at Kate.

"O-of course." She nodded, feeling her whole body melting under Diana's hopeful gaze.

"Great." She took a step forward and leaned in; making sure that no one else could hear her, "You can stop blushing now, Kate, I wasn't that close this time."

Without further delay, Wonder Woman said goodbye to the colonel and left to talk with other guests. Kate was staring after her, unintentionally ignoring her dad for a couple of seconds. Her breathing was ragged, she gulped several times but it didn't help with the dry throat. A strong arm locked around her shoulders and she finally turned to pay attention to the man standing next to her.

"What was that about?" He failed to hide the smug expression on his face, "Did my daughter just score a date with Wonder Woman?"

"Dad, please…" Kate groaned, walking towards the changing room to pick up her jacket.


	2. Chapter 2

Kate woke up at her apartment in the Kane tower. She looked drowsily at her phone to check the time. _11 am._ Her shoulders were stiff but Kate didn't pay attention to it, she crawled out of the bed and slowly moved to the shower. Stream of hot water was something she appreciated, especially after last night. Thankfully there was no need to go out as Batwoman during the night but the police gala did drain most of her strength. It took her more than twenty minutes to get out of the shower and fifteen more to pick an outfit for her training with Diana. Her final choice were dark brown cargo pants and a black tank top contrasting hard with her pale skin. She also grabbed a coffee and sunglasses on her way out. The elevator brought her down quickly. Kate almost jogged past the reception, nodding excitedly at the employee. She completely missed her father standing near the waiting area.

"Kate!" Hearing his voice caused her to stop.

"Dad, I'll be late…" She started before turning around, "What do-"

"Hello Kate." Diana's voice rang through the lobby and the redhead's jaw hit the floor when she saw the woman stand next to her father. She almost tripped over the edge of blue rug on the floor as her eyes raked all over the goddess body. Diana was wearing a tight black jeans, loose white button up with brown leather jacket over it.

"H-Hi...Sorry I...I didn't see you here…" Kate spluttered.

"Ouch." The Amazon chuckled and picked up the small sport bag from the floor, "Your father said that we can use his private gym…"

"His gym?" Kate raised her eyebrows and looked amused at her dad.

"Well I paid for it." Jacob laughed, obviously entertained by his daughter's behavior, especially around his friend.

"Yeah?" She scoffed, "When was the last time you used it?"

"Maybe you could join us, Colonel?" Diana jumped into the conversation, smiling innocently at the redhead. Kate glared at her dad, trying to ignore the woman next to her.

"I'd love to but I think my daughter would not enjoy it as much as we would." He leaned a little towards Diana and squeezed her shoulder, "Maybe next time?" She nodded and her attention turned back to Kate as soon as the colonel walked away.

"Shall we?" The Amazon asked.

"Uh...yeah...let's go."

Kate was thankful that they didn't have to wait long for the elevator. It was hard not to notice Diana, even though she was wearing casual clothes. People were staring at them and it wasn't exactly comfortable for her. However the goddess didn't mind the attention. After all these years on Earth she was more than used to it. To be fair, everyone knew who Wonder Woman was but not a lot of people knew Batwoman's real identity. They entered the elevator with a couple of employees who were working in the offices upstairs. Kate gave them a small smile when they tried to cover their confused looks, eyes flicking between both women. The Amazon didn't miss the looks that she was getting as she scooted over to Kate. The redhead gulped audibly when she felt Diana's hand on her back. Loud exhale interrupted the silence in the elevator, Kate fought hard to keep it in but when the strong fingers pulled down her tank top a bit, revealing the nautical star tattoo between her shoulder blades, she lost the fight.

"That's a nice tattoo, Kate." The Amazon slowly ran her fingers over the exposed skin, copying the edges of the star.

"Shit…" She muttered, clearing her throat few times before answering, "I...uh...thank you. Did you...uh did you consider having one?"

"Not like I could."

"Right…" Kate shot a killing look towards the employees giggling in the corner of the elevator.

"Was that supposed to be scary?" Diana whispered, serious look on her face. Kate turned her glare on the Amazon and pouted, making the employees laugh even harder. The goddess let her hand drop from Kate's back and her gaze shifted to the rest of the occupants of the elevator. It wasn't a surprise that her glare had a completely different effect than Kate's. The elevator stopped and the employees rushed out, hoping to avoid her wrath. It was Kate's turn to chuckle at their embarrassed faces.

"You didn't have to do that…" She blurted, trying to keep the chuckling under control.

"Well...let's call it lesson one." Diana winked at her, leaning on the cold metal wall.

* * *

They reached the gym in few minutes, Kate was still trying to pull herself together after what happened in the elevator. She didn't even mind that her father's employees were laughing at her behavior, the thing she couldn't get out of her mind was how Diana's fingertips felt against her skin. The equipment in the room was one of the top brands, her father didn't mind paying insane amount of money for things that could help Kate improve as Batwoman. She also had a feeling that he set her up for meeting Wonder Woman during the gala. Kate almost forgot the cup of coffee in her hand, it was stone cold now. She put the cup down on the closest bench and walked over to the closest punching bag, giving Diana some time to change. Her brain let go of all the thoughts as she started her usual sequence of punches but she could feel the Amazon's eyes watching her, studying her every move. Kate was smart, she knew that showing off her skills wouldn't be a great idea since Diana didn't know about her secret identity. It was hard to force herself to do mistakes but she managed to keep her shoulders down and not use her whole body weight for the punches, which was something that the Amazon immediately picked up.

"You are standing all wrong…"

"Am I?" Kate asked, fake surprise coloring her voice. She turned around to look at her new teacher, but she didn't pick the best time. Diana just pulled down her jeans, revealing long, toned legs.

"Yes, let me show you." She started walking towards Kate, the muscles flexing with every step she took. Kate knew she was staring and with open mouth. She also knew that Diana was talking and she didn't catch a single word. It wasn't intentional but her brain just wasn't capable of paying attention to anything else than the Amazon's body; at least until fingers snapped in front of her eyes.

"S-sorry…" Her face turned red in matter of seconds.

"You didn't hear anything that I just said right?" Diana tilted her head, waiting for Kate to look up at her.

"I...Sorry." The redhead choked out the same word again but when her eyes moved up to the Amazon's face, she didn't really see the expression she expected. Diana was amused. Again.

"No need." The goddess dismissed her apology, "You're a human, whenever your kind see something you like, it ends like this. Natural reaction." She shrugged, obvious very aware of how attractive she was for most of the Earth population.

"Are you...saying that I like you?" Kate's eyes were growing wider and wider with every other second that Diana spent in her proximity.

"Don't you?" It wasn't really a necessary question, they both know the answer. Diana took a few steps back to her bag and put on the rest of her workout clothes. Kate was silent, she wasn't used to being called out like this. The Amazon came back almost instantly, she took a place behind the redhead, "You don't have to be embarrassed about that, Kate…"

"Let's just...focus on the training, huh?" Kate shut down the conversation, letting herself fall into the hero mode and dismissing all the inappropriate thoughts.

"Sure…" Diana nodded and proceeded to show her how to move properly during fights to use the whole body weight. Even though Kate knew all this, she let the goddess lead, listening to the advices and repeating the motions that she showed her; all that with Diana's body firmly pressed into her back, copying her every movement. When she was certain enough that Kate got it right, she stepped back and moved towards the other bag.

"How much do you have to control...yourself?" Kate asked after few minutes.

"A lot…" Diana smirked, allowing a bit more strength into her hits. The bag was swinging heavily and it looked dangerously close to breaking apart from the chain that was holding it.

"Isn't that annoying?"

"Why?" The Amazon seemed surprised by the question.

"I mean...it'd be easier to just let go, no?"

"Of course, Kate...but we wouldn't want to destroy the building now, would we?" She deadpanned and glanced at the redhead briefly, only to see her entertained, somewhat cocky expression.

"Show me."

"That is not the best idea."

"I want to see...I mean...don't destroy the building but let go a bit?" Kate encouraged her.

Diana turned around, fully facing her companion now. Her face was unreadable and Kate prayed that she didn't overstep. The Amazon bit her lower lip and without breaking the eye contact, she hit the bag. Loud creak accompanied the dull thud noise when the bag hit the ceiling but Diana wasn't done. If Kate wanted to see, then who was she to say no. She turned around on one heel and her leg hit the target directly. The chain broke and the bag flew into the wall on the other side of the gym.

"Holy fuck…" Kate wasn't that surprised, she knew very well the extend of Wonder Woman's strength but seeing at least a part of it still had an effect on her, "Do you want to...uh do you want to spar?" She pointed towards the small ring not far away from the place where the bag landed.

"Why not…" She just shrugged and walked over to the ring.

"Just...you know...be gentle?" The redhead joked, her eyes glancing at the bag, then back at Diana.

"I have no intentions to hurt you, Kate." The Amazon gave her a small smile and waited for her to start the fight.

It didn't take long and Kate was already lying down on her back. She didn't even touch the goddess before her back hit the floor again. It was a little annoying and Diana for sure noticed the change in her body language; clenched jaw and tense muscles. Kate didn't even bother with taking a proper stance, she faked punch left and instead did the same movement that the Amazon did with a bag before. Unfortunately for her, Diana was expecting it. She ducked down at the last moment and continued with a precise kick just under Kate's knee, expecting that the redhead would end up down again. The moment when Kate felt her leg giving up on her, she didn't think. It was a motion that she had to do several times as Batwoman, she turned her body, now falling face first into the ground but before her body could hit the floor, Kate braced herself against it with her hands and bounced back to her feet. For the first time since yesterday, Diana was the one who was speechless. Her mouth slightly open and her eyes looking cautiously at Kate, waiting for the explanation of how she just did that when couple minutes ago, she couldn't even punch the bag properly. Instead of getting the answer for the unspoken question, Kate launched forward, dedicated to take the goddess down at least once. Her body crashed into the Amazon. Diana didn't prevent the impact but she allowed herself to go with it; otherwise Kate's attempt would have same effect as running into the wall. Since Diana really didn't want to cause her any injuries, she fell down on the floor with her; looking up into the wide green eyes. Kate was obviously taken by surprise that the goddess fell down so easily; only until she noticed the smug grin on Diana's face.

"You did that on purpose…" She shook her head with disbelief.

"Didn't want to hurt you." The Amazon said, "Kate, where did you learn that…"

"Military…" The redhead scoffed and tried to stand up. When she leaned on her arms to push herself up, Diana grabbed her wrists and rolled to the side. Kate had no time to react as the Amazon pulled both her arms to the side with her and chuckled when her opponent landed on the floor again. Kate growled in pain and rubbed her shoulder, looking up at Diana.

"Never let your guard down." She offered the redhead a hand and helped her up.

"I thought you didn't want to hurt me…" Kate pretended a whine, but she regretted it immediately when she noticed how the expression on Diana's face changed from entertained to concerned in a blink of an eye, "I was...just joking."

"Oh…" Her face lit up again and a relieved sigh escaped from her mouth.

"Maybe we could-" Whatever Kate was going to say, it got interrupted by Diana's phone. She patiently waited for the Amazon to finish the call.

"Did something happen?" The redhead asked, even though she gathered enough information to figure that Diana will have to leave.

"I have to go, Kate…" Her face showed the signs of disappointment, "I apologize but apparently Wonder Woman is needed." She still managed to flash a smile in Kate's direction as she grabbed the bag and walked over towards the window.

"Be careful...I mean…" Kate cursed herself for saying that, like something could hurt the goddess.

"I will." Diana chuckled before flying off to wherever she was needed.

* * *

Wonder Woman arrived at the Gotham museum of Antiquities, the place where the Green Bell of Uthool was placed. She was aware what would happen if someone would manage to steal it and use it with the two other magic items and since Diana wasn't fond of demons running around, she didn't waste any time with looking around. She heard the gunshots from inside and ran towards the main door. It was the classic Wonder Woman entrance, sliding in through the door; obviously the door was smashed in the process but people loved it. She stopped in the middle of enormous hall of the museum, quickly looking around to check the situation. Five heavily armed guys were standing on her right and three more in front of her. Civilians were on the ground behind them, happiness sneaking into their faces as they saw the arrival of the goddess. Diana smirked and casually blew away the pieces of wood from her shoulder.

One of the robbers aimed at the hero and pulled the trigger. Diana deflected the bullet with the bracelet and moved towards the man. The rest of the group waited, actually they were staring in horror as the hero reached their mate and threw him across the hall. Civilians cheered for the hero, one of the robbers turned around and aimed his gun on the small girl in the corner. Before anyone could do anything, he pulled the trigger and a loud scream filled the hall. Fortunately, Wonder Woman was paying attention to the rest of the criminals and reached the girl in time. She pulled her up into her arms and quickly moved her to the sobbing mother nearby. The woman couldn't even say thank you, because Diana had to act fast. She was always a bit cocky when it came to fighting villains that could barely react to her movement but when they threatened civilians, that was something else. Wonder Woman moved around the hall precisely and disabled three more guys in a couple of seconds. She looked to her left, to make sure that no one else was in immediate danger. When she found the rest of the robbers on the other side of the hall, the smirk returned to her face as she walked towards them.

"You picked a worst moment to interrupt my day." The sound of her mocking voice was accompanied by gulping of the men in front of her.

"S-stay back." One of the yelled and aimed the gun towards the hero. Diana only scoffed at his naivety and jumped towards him first. Her hand grabbed the gun and without any problems bent the cold metal upwards. Robbers eyes were wide and he started walking backwards. Unfortunately for him, Wonder Woman reached for her lasso and it locked around his ankles; pulling him down to the ground. She punched the other guy standing near her and he fell down unconscious. Dealing with the last two was easier than Diana expected. They practically dropped the guns to the floor, begging her to not hurt them. The fight was over before it could properly start and the hero was a little disappointed. Police rushed into the museum only to find a couple of criminals on the ground and Wonder Woman helping civilians out.

"Great...we can't even do our job now." One of them groaned, loud enough for Diana to hear. She ruffled hair of the little girl she saved earlier and walked angrily towards the police officer. During her time in the human world, she learned that most of the people are ungrateful and rude but it didn't make her less angry. The man saw her marching towards him and a sly smile lit up his face.

"What can I do for you, darling?" He asked, probably not even realizing what Diana could do to him if she would want to.

"Maybe you can get to your next job faster…" The hero answered, raising her eyebrows and waiting for his reaction.

"Maybe you should not get involved next time…" The cop deadpanned, "We can a handle few guys."

"If I wouldn't be here in time, that little girl would be dead." Diana pointed outside towards the woman who was now leaving the building with her daughter in her arms, "And they would-" She didn't finish, her eyes noticed the small figure up on the glass roof of the museum, "Klarion?" She whispered before leaving the confused officer and jumping up towards the roof.


	3. Chapter 3

Batwoman arrived in front of the Gotham museum a few minutes after the police. She knew that Diana most likely solved the problem but she really wanted to see the goddess again; even though this time, Wonder Woman would hopefully not recognize her. The loud engine of a black and red Ducati roared and the noise attracted the attention of civilians standing outside. Kate looked around, carefully assessing every detail around. She saw Diana standing near one of the police officers and then jumping away surprisingly fast. The bewilderment on Amazon's face was hard to miss. Batwoman's arrival started causing more and more unwanted commotion from the civilians. Kate jumped off of the bike and without hesitation followed Diana up to the roof. As she was getting closer to the edge of the building, the grappling hook wobbled more and more. The redhead was used to the feeling that it would break and she knew she would be forced to use her cape to fly back down to the street however doing that in front of the Wonder Woman would probably not be that impressive. She tried to reach the roof with her hand but before she could the rope broke and a loud thud followed as the hook fell down to the ground with a few pieces of bricks. Kate eventually pulled herself up and landed on her feet. Unfortunately Diana was already staring in her direction, clearly fighting the urge to chuckle. Batwoman cleared her throat, took a deep breath and proceeded to walk towards the other heroine.

"I expected Batman to show up." The Amazon started the conversation, failing to hide the spark of interest in her eyes as she took in Kate's appearance.

"Am I not enough?" The Bat joked back, one hand resting on her hips. Kate was feeling more confident hidden behind the bat-shaped mask, plus she didn't miss the sparkle in Diana's eyes, it was easy to use that to her advantage. Batwoman's suit was completely copying her toned body, making her muscles visible at all the right places. Since she was aware of that, Kate continued to innocently flex and Diana continued to enjoy the view for a while.

"Hard to say after that landing…" Her voice was merely above whisper but it was enough to snap them both out of the moment.

"I...uh…" Kate clenched her jaw, trying to change the topic, "What did the cop want?"

"Hm?"

"Saw you talking with an officer Grogan...then jumping to the roof right away...did he say something?" The redhead explained and patiently waited for the answer.

"Oh this guy…" Wonder Woman laughed, her laughter was different than at the gala, not as much energetic as before, "Let's just say that...he could learn how to be more thankful."

"He's a dick." Kate growled and leaned back on the small wall decorating the edge of the roof.

"That's not very nice…" Soft chuckle escaped past Amazon's lips, she didn't try to contain it this time.

"And why the quick escape? Did he scare you with the rudeness?"

"That's why I was hoping for Batman…"

"Ouch…" Kate repeated Diana's gesture from this morning and discreetly stared at her, hoping to get any kind of reaction, "So I am not enough."

"Nothing against you...I worked with him a couple of times and we...well...we make a good team." She answered with a grin on her face, clearly remembering the times with Bruce.

"Ah." Batwoman leaped up on the wall, ignoring the sting of jealousy in her chest, "Sorry to disappoint you but he had to leave...unfinished business."

"Would you be willing to help?" Diana tilted her head to the side, her gaze not leaving Kate's face.

"I wouldn't want to make it harder for you." The bat retorted. She caught the sight of amused brown eyes following her every movement. "Clock tower, in an hour." With that, she jumped off the roof and left the Amazon alone.

* * *

Kate crashed into the couch in the middle of the clock tower hideout with a long whine. It was hard enough to deal with all the villains, now she had to deal with Wonder Woman and most importantly her uncontrollable desire to be near the goddess for as long as she could; the headaches didn't help. She stretched her neck, hoping to relieve the numb pain. Sound of an approaching wheelchair pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Still having those headaches?" a strong voice cut through the sudden silence in the room.

"Mhmm." The redhead scoffed. She tilted her head forward and opened her eyes. Oracle was sitting right in front of her. Kate was often wondering how Barbara Gordon was dealing so well with not being able to be Batgirl anymore. It was hard for her to imagine that she could end up in a wheelchair. Batwoman was a huge part of Kate's identity, no matter how hard she tried to keep her secret life separate. She admired Barbara for not giving up, for becoming the Oracle and continuing to help the bat family.

"Why are you staring at me?" Barbara shifted a little uncomfortable under Kate's gaze.

"I was just...how are you handling that?" She blurted out without thinking.

"The wheelchair? That's easy, you just-"

"Idiot…" Batwoman frowned, she was glad that her friend was able to make jokes even after the incident with Joker but it was hard not to be angry, when she had no way of helping her.

"Come on, Kate…" Oracle chuckled, "There is no point to dwell on past."

"Huh, I guess that's true."

"Of course it is, how would that help?" Both women were startled by Robin entering the room.

"How long have you been listening?" Barbara asked and moved towards Tim.

"Long enough to know that Kate actually has a heart." His witty retort was accompanied by loud growl coming from the sofa, "Am I wrong? Did Diana steal it already?"

"I...what?" The redhead jumped up and failed to hide the blush creeping up her face.

"She's going to deny it...watch." Barb leaned back and let her boyfriend give her a soft kiss.

"Well...aren't you two the sweetest." Kate mocked them and started pacing along the giant clock in the wall.

"So?" Tim encouraged her to continue; He knew that Batman wasn't coming back to Gotham anytime soon, so the city could use another hero around, especially if it would be Wonder Woman.

"You can ask her…she should be here soon."

"What? She is coming here?" Barbara's face lit up, it was obvious that she would jump with joy if she could.

"She needed help with something. She asked for Bruce...but yeah, guess we'll have to do."

"You don't sound really happy about it. Did you...tell her?" Robin asked, even though he knew the answer. Kate would never reveal your identity like this.

"I don't like being compared. Especially by someone who doesn't know...anything." Her voice sounded more angry than usual.

Everyone stayed quiet for a couple of minutes. They all knew how it felt like, being compared to Batman. Although it was one of the few things no one liked, they never doubted that Bruce could defeat them all; and that was a reason for all the comparisons.

"But...she is still coming right?" Oracle asked, barely hiding the excitement.

"I guess…"

"Kate...from what you said earlier...it looks like she enjoyed your company." Tim tried to make her less worried, "I'm pretty sure that she'll enjoy working with Batwoman too."

"I don't really care." Kate barked out. Diana managed to hit a sore spot, although it probably wasn't on purpose, it didn't really matter to the redhead right now.

Before Tim could continue, Wonder Woman landed in the middle of the room. A cloud of dust flew off the floor followed by a loud creak of wood. Barbara gulped audibly, staring at the heroine with her mouth open. Robin straightened up and smiled. The Amazon didn't look a day older since he saw her the last time. Kate didn't react, she continued looking out into the Gotham city with a small pout on her face.

"Is this a bad time?" Diana asked, her eyes glued to the Batwoman's silhouette.

"No, not for us. Just ignore her." Barb didn't hesitate to answer, smirking.

"Your previous conversation just...wasn't the best?" The redhead scoffed at his explanation.

"Tim Drake." The Amazon jumped next to Robin and gave him a brief hug.

"Good to see you again, Diana." The hug was interrupted by the noise of Barbara clearing her throat, "Right...this is my girlfriend, Barbara Gordon."

"The famous Oracle?" The hero offered her a hand and she gladly shook it, not saying a word. Clearly it was hard for her to believe that Wonder Woman knew who she was. Even though Bruce always appreciated the work that Barb did, she never thought that he would talk about her with other heroes.

"So what do you need help with?" Tim was eager to hear the explanation of the unexpected visit. Diana looked back at Batwoman who was still successfully ignoring her.

"Just give me a minute?"

"Sure." The couple nodded and moved over to the computers on the other side of the room.

She stood silently, watching the Gotham hero. Her mind wandered to the previous events of the day; her training with Kate Kane. She judged her way too early and then ended up speechless when the redhead revealed her skills. There was a strong possibility that she made the same mistake twice in one day, which was pretty unusual for her. Mankind couldn't compare her to the rest of the Amazons, they never got a chance to see them. Compared to the other superheroes, Diana was still literally a goddess. Yet it wasn't hard for her to empathize. Batwoman had to be compared to Batman every other day and the fact that she joked about it didn't exactly start their friendship off in the best way. Now, she had to put Wonder Woman aside for couple of minutes and figure out the right approach to save the situation. It definitely wasn't her intention to insult anyone from the bat family; especially not another female superhero. As an Amazon, she had enormous respect for any woman in this kind of work. After few long steps, Diana ended up standing right behind Batwoman. It was impossible to not notice the small shudder running down the redhead's spine. This happened almost everytime, no matter if she was close to a man or woman. She could call it one of the biggest weaknesses for humans, not being able to control their body responses at all times.

"Planning on joining us?" Diana kept her voice down, hoping that they could solve this in private; sort of.

"I can hear very well from here." The Bat answered calmly, her heart rate spiking up. Kate was aware of the mess she was becoming in her presence.

"About before…"

"Don't worry about it." She turned around, facing the goddess, suddenly very thankful for the mask she was wearing.

"I didn't...but looks like you are more than I thought." The Amazon was absolutely honest, as always.

"It's just-"

"Annoying?"

"I know that he is the best." Kate exhaled, "But I'm really-"

"You are really trying?"

"Did you pick up habit of interrupting people?" The only answer she got for her question was a friendly smirk on Diana's face, "Anyway yeah, not like you ever had to prove yourself, huh?"

"Maybe we are not that different." It was supposed to be a rhetorical question but apparently this time, it was Batwoman hitting on something from the past of the other woman, "Back at Themyscira, my mother never thought that I was good enough to be the emissary for the Amazons. Half of my life there was about proving that I am worthy of going to the outside world."

"Oh," Kate's gaze dropped to the floor when she realized how stupid it was to assume that she knows anything about their guest, "Sorry. I-I didn't know."

"I'd be surprised if you would." Diana waved her hand and chuckled, "Not a common knowledge."

"So are we sharing secrets now?"

"Would you like to share one?" The goddess raised her eyebrows, one of her fingers copying the edge of Batwoman's mask.

"I-Uh-I-No." The redhead's eyes flew wide open at the implication. She was not ready to share her identity with Diana. She enjoyed her time with the Amazon as Kate that much that she was definitely not ready to risk it. Although it was obvious that Wonder Woman would not judge her for being a hero it could change the relationship that she currently had with Kate Kane forever.

"Alright…" She removed her hand from the mask and took a step back.

"So...uh...what made you jump on that museum roof?"

"Klarion." Diana walked back towards Barbara and Tim, saying only one word like it would explain everything.

"The Witch Boy? In Gotham?" Fortunately, Oracle picked up on the hint right away.

"I think he's trying to get the artifacts to-"

"Summon the demons…" Barb finished and turned back to the computer, immediately trying to locate Klarion.

"Demons?" Robin smirked.

"Demons Three…" Batwoman whispered, "Faust wanted to summon them into the world once but he didn't have the magic items.."

"Yes and the Green Bell of Uthool is in Gotham. Same as Felix Faust." The Amazon smiled, impressed by the Bat's knowledge, she already knew that they would work well together.

"The other two items?" Barbara asked without moving her eyes away from the computer screens.

"Still in their places. I checked." Wonder Woman assured them, "And Faust is still in prison."

"Could Klarion be the mysterious criminal?" Robin turned around to face Kate.

"Is it possible that he talked to Faust before you got to him?" The redhead ignored his question, clearly more worried about how powerful Klarion would become with the power of the demons three.

"Yes." Diana nodded, "Although I don't think you'll be able to trace him with your technology."

"If he is the new villain or has something to do with it...we could just follow the crime scenes?" Tim tried again, this time they acknowledged his theory.

"I can keep an eye on all police calls, let you know when something will pop up?" Barbara offered.

"That is a good idea...and we can go out tonight." The goddess cautiously looked at Batwoman, still not sure if they cleared the air after the previous conversation.

"O-out?" Kate stammered out a little confused.

"To search the city."

"Right…"

"What about me?" Robin jumped in, feeling left out from the plan.

"You stay here and guard the lunch box." Kate smirked. Diana's energetic laugh echoed through the clock tower and the atmosphere in the room suddenly didn't feel so heavy.

"B-But...Robins are good luck?"

"Then you better stay here and share the luck with me." Barbara giggled and pulled him closer towards her.


	4. Chapter 4

Batwoman followed Diana out of the clock tower into the city. It was getting dark but it wasn't hard for her to keep up with the Amazon. At least it wasn't until the annoying thudding in her head returned with a much stronger force than before. She managed to ignore it at first and follow Wonder Woman around Gotham, however as they passed by the Kane tower the pain became unbearable and the Bat found herself plummeting down toward the street. Kate unable to move, an unwelcomed panic started growing in her guts. There was a slight chance that Diana was looking behind her and saw what was happening but the redhead didn't count on it. This wasn't a normal headache and now she certainly wished she had listened to her father and visited a doctor. The ground was getting closer and closer, Batwoman was surely getting some broken bones. She got mentally prepared for the impact, however before that could happen two strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her back up. In a couple of seconds she felt the solid ground under her and someone's body pressed into her side radiating an insane amount of warmth; Kate could only hope it was the Amazon.

"What just happened?" a soft and concerned voice filled her head, "Are you okay?"

"I...I…" Batwoman tried to talk but her throat was too dry. She managed to gulp few times even though it was obvious that it wouldn't help. At least it gave her time to prepare explanation for her sudden fall. Kate knew she can't just say that it was a headache, not after Diana saw her having the same issue at the gala. Even though back then it wasn't so bad she didn't want to risk anything.

"Should I take you back?" The Amazon caressed the Bat's jaw, forcing the other woman to face her. Although Diana couldn't say if she is looking at her since half of Kate's face was hidden behind the mask, the friendly gesture couldn't hurt.

"I just...really need to eat something." The redhead smiled, finally finding her voice.

"Are you sure that's all?"

"Definitely." Kate nodded, barely covering a loud whine. Moving her head was something that she should probably avoid in next couple of hours but there was no chance of doing it. Looking for Klarion was more important, getting rid of the worried expression on Diana's face was the second thing on her _to do_ list, after that she could get some rest.

"Well then, let's get you some food." Wonder Woman smiled and helped her up.

Fortunately feeling the Amazon's body pressed closely against hers, supporting her like she didn't weight anything proved to be distracting enough from the string of pain currently ravaging her body. Kate could feel her back muscles going spasmodically stiff every couple of seconds but she could also feel Diana's abs flexing slightly when she was being picked up. The cold air was annoyingly stinging her face and the redhead was only hoping that no one in Gotham is looking up to the sky now. It would be hard to explain why Wonder Woman is flying around with Batwoman in her arms, also it's certainly not something that the criminals should see. Her gaze shifted back to the woman currently carrying her over the city, she curled closer into the warmth, trying to gain cover from the wind. There were so many emotions going through her head at the same time, her heart rate spiked up but her breathing remained calm and shallow. She was feeling weak and Batwoman doesn't feel weak. She was also feeling very safe and Kate Kane doesn't feel safe, she wish she could but it was never an option; until this moment. It would be crazy to think that the goddess wouldn't be able to protect her, on the other hand that wasn't something that Kate would want. She was more than capable of taking care of herself. Maybe it didn't look like that a few minutes ago when she was lifelessly falling to the street but she could. Something inside her was making her feel disgusted about the security that the Amazon provided and the redhead started moving in her arms, trying to find a way to escape. Diana never intended to make her feel uncomfortable, yet when she felt the Bat's subtle movements, she tighten her grip around her without any hesitation. After a few more metres she started her descent to the nearest roof. As soon as her feet hit the ground, Batwoman gathered all the strength that she had left and pushed her away. There was a sign of confusion on the Amazon's face and Kate instantly regretted the rushed reaction to the offered help.

"Didn't think that the Bat would be afraid of flying…" Diana joked but clearly she was upset about the situation. She wasn't sure if Batwoman got offended by what she did or if there was any other reason for this behaviour. It was in her nature to always help everyone and it was evident that the Gotham hero was in no state of getting to the food source on her own.

"I am not." The redhead answered, "I just think that...if we will separate, we can search more of the city."

"If you think that I'd leave you alone after…"

"I'm okay. Thank you for saving me from broken ribs but...there is a restaurant down on the street, I can pick up some food and continue searching." Kate tried to persuade the Amazon. She really didn't want Diana to leave, in fact she could spend whole night working with her and that's why Batwoman needed to go.

"You are just going to walk into a restaurant like this?" Wonder Woman asked surprised, referring to the Bat costume.

"It's Gotham, they are used to it."

"Are you sure? I don't mind going there and getting the food…" Diana offered and watched Kate burst into an adorable giggle.

"Right...like you get less attention than me with the way you look." Before her brain caught up with what she was saying, it was too late. The goddess curiously tilted her head to the side and waited, being once again entertained by Kate's antics.

"I...uuh-I should probably go now." The Bat said really slowly. She hated when guys were hitting on her like this and now she was the one who did it. Even though she really didn't mean any harm, it was hard to say what was going through the Amazon's mind right now. Kate could swear that she seemed somewhat pleased.

"If you encounter Klarion, how-"

"Take this." The redhead handed her a small communication device, "If I'll find him, I'll let you know...but…"

"But?" Diana reached for the device, her fingers briefly lingering over Batwoman's.

"It works both ways...if you find him-"

"I'll consider letting you know." Before she could start protesting, the Amazon walked over to the edge of a roof and added, "Now go get some food, wouldn't want to find you in the middle of the street in few hours."

What Wonder Woman didn't know was, that it wouldn't take even half an hour before that could happen. When the Amazon left, Kate took a couple of long breaths, slowly moving towards the fire escape staircase. She reached for the cold metal railing when her legs gave up on her. For the second time in last few minutes, the ground was getting closer and closer and the Bat was helpless. The last thing she perceived was the impact of her body to the cold roof; then it all went black.

* * *

"So...what now?" Tim asked unknowingly, looking at his girlfriend.

"Now? We can go through the footage from the last crime scene, hopefully we can find something to help." She exhaled and turned the Gotham news on one of the monitors.

"Didn't you go through that already?"

"Not the last one."

" _This is Vicki Vale with latest news from Gotham! Is the city lost without Batman? Last night there was an incident in the museum of Antiquities. A group of armed criminals attempted to steal one of the items from the building while holding several civilians hostage. Thankfully another superhero was visiting and decided to show up just in time. Yes, Wonder Woman prevented them to take the precious artifact and saved the poor visitors. One of the eyewitnesses sent us this exclusive recording of Batwoman arriving at the crime scene with the note saying: 'You could say she was fashionably late and her skills were ridiculous.'"_

Robin went a little closer and watched the news very cautiously. He could see Batwoman using the grappling hook. He could also clearly see that the part of the roof broke and it was hardly Kate's fault, yet the reporter used it to mock her. Tim growled and clenched his fists when the annoying grin of Vicki Vale appeared on the screen again.

" _Maybe next time instead of putting our money to charity, we should pay for training of these so called heroes-"_

"Turn it off."

"What a bitch." Barb scoffed and loaded up the footage from the last crime of the mysterious villain. Tim was awfully quiet, he always hated it when someone was mocking any member of the family. He tried to focus on finding anything that could help them identify this scoundrel.

"Wait…" He suddenly jumped towards the table, "Rewind it and watch this shadow."

"This?" Oracle asked, zooming in on the situation in front of them, "That looks like…"

"Can you zoom even closer?" Before he finished, Barbara already did what he wanted and the video started playing again.

"Tim...That's not...That's not possible." She turned to him, her eyes were wide with consternation.

"Call her." He said, rubbing his neck, "She should know why is he using her weapon."

Barb nodded and tried the comms; when she received only silence as an answer she tried to call Kate directly on her phone but even that didn't help. She took a deep breath and looked at the screen again. It was hard for her to accept that someone else from the Bat family could be evil. Even harder to accept that it would be one of her closest friends. If it really was true and Kate was the mysterious villain then there was only one person in the city who would be able to defeat her. However, Barbara knew that she will need more than a lousy video as a proof to ask Wonder Woman for help.

"Do you have files about the last fight between Batman and Klarion?" Tim asked all of sudden.

"I can find them, why? What are you thinking about?"

"It doesn't make any sense, there is no one else with a weapon like this." Robin was thinking out loud, "If Klarion is capable of using magic...maybe he...maybe he made her do it?"

"I'll find the files." Oracle nodded as she look into his hopeful eyes, "What if…"

"Don't." He dismissed the idea of Kate being evil without even thinking about it.

"Tim, we have to consider every option." Barbara deadpanned, her voice shaking.

"If it is really her." He put a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed, "I will stop her, without hurting her."

"You seriously think, that you can just go and beat Batwoman." She frowned and put the notes on the big monitor.

"Someone will have to do it, Barb."

Without further conversation, both of them started going through the files. If there was anything that could help explain what is happening with Kate Kane, Oracle would not miss it; Although there wasn't much to begin with. Bruce kept the his notes short and most of it was just useless discoveries or personal observations. Tim was slowly giving up, he knew that Barbara was right, there was no way of him defeating Kate but he wouldn't let anyone else to do this job. His gaze fell at his girlfriend desperately trying to find even a smallest clue that would salvaged Batwoman right now. The Amazon would be able to overpower the Bat alone and most likely in matter of minutes but they all knew about her methods. Diana was against killing but if it was necessary she would do anything to protect the innocent. He ran his hand through Barb's hair, closing his eyes and already trying to figure out how they will tell all this to Bruce.

"Look!" Oracle's voice pulled him out of preparing his speech.

"Curse?" Tim whispered, quickly skimming through the text, "Robin started acting weird...headaches...Klarion is definitely controlling him somehow...cursed mask."

"Kate did suffer from headaches lately." Barbara exhaled, the happiness sneaking back into her voice.

"We have to try and get the mask off." He said, picking up his mask and getting ready to go.

"Wait...y-you can't…"

"There is no one else who can do it." Tim kneeled down in front of her, taking her hands into his, "I can do it."

"You don't know if the mask is enhancing her physical abilities, you don't even know if she is conscious…"

"Barbara…" He smiled and pulled her in for a kiss, "I have to do it, I have to."

"You don't have to prove anything to anyone, Tim...you don't even know where she is." Oracle shook her head, trying her best to persuade him to not go but she knew that this is the only chance. Of course they could ask Diana but she would certainly not play on coincidence. Unless they were sure that Kate was actually cursed, a fight with Wonder Woman could be deadly for their friend.

"You can find her...I can take care of her. As a team...like old times." He kissed her again before standing up and going to the secret exit.

"Just...be careful and come back." Barbara smiled sadly, turning back to the computer and working on finding the Bat.

* * *

Diana was on her way to the location of the second magical item. It took her a couple of minutes to get there, she used this time to retrace her day, which is a thing that was usually not necessary. This time though, her mind promptly drifted to her morning session with the daughter of Colonel Kane. The Amazon felt bad about leaving so fast and without any explanation, she enjoyed her time with Kate. On the other side, that was her job as Wonder Woman, whenever help was needed, she went there without giving it a second thought. That also meant, barely having enough time to do anything for herself, such as giving training lesson to a captivating young woman. She decided to do it at least once more before leaving Gotham. Then there was the situation with the Bat. Diana was glad that they managed to resolve the problems but she was feeling a little confused about the behavior of Batwoman. Although, most of the time Diana found human reactions irrational and for her, definitely amusing. The comms that she now shared with the Gotham hero were quiet. For some reason, it made her feel less worried. It wasn't a question of underestimating others but she was a goddess and her presence in a fight with Klarion would certainly be better for everyone; except him. She landed right next to the item, the Silver Wheel of Nyorlath. Some of the weight was lifted from her shoulders when she saw the item stand in it's place. However something seemed off, Wonder Woman looked around, analysing every corner and possible hiding place.

"I know you are here." Her voice echoed through the empty room.

"I am impressed…" The evil chuckle and a dull thump behind her was exactly what she expected.

"You are predictable." She turned on her heel, her hand resting near the lasso, while the other reached for the communication device, "I found him."

"I am afraid that your friend is not in reach, Princess." Klarion smiled, accompanied by meowing of his cat.

"I don't need my friend to take care of you." The Amazon smirked, "You'll never get the items, give it up now and save us both some time."

"See…" Klarion started walking around the room, her eyes not leaving Diana, "That's where we disagree. I am getting this one without a doubt."

"You seem awfully sure about that." Even though magic could not hurt her much, it was indisputable that the witch boy had a plan and she would be a fool to rush in.

"Well, what can I say...your friend was a great addition to the team."

"I...what?" Diana was caught by surprise.

"Your friend...the Bat, she's wonderful, isn't she? A little too stubborn for my taste but still an incredible helper." Klarion was enjoying the changing emotions on Wonder Woman's face.

"She would never help you." She scoffed. Batwoman was hard to read but one thing was undeniable, Bruce would not leave anyone evil in charge.

"Oh, I can be very persuasive. Want to see?"

Before Diana could answer a computer monitor lit up with a live feed from security camera near the Gotham museum. Upon closer inspection, she could recognize the redhead tying up hostages and putting them into a back of a truck. On the ground next to her, there was something dangerously reminding her of a huge bomb. Batwoman didn't get the package, her intentions were interrupted by someone else. Robin landed in front of the car, immediately gaining her attention. It didn't make much sense to the Amazon, she talked with the Bat, she should have noticed something amiss but she didn't and now all of these civilians were in danger; and now even Tim. Wonder Woman saw him fight before and she hated to come to this conclusion but if only half of what she heard about Batwoman was true, Robin would be dead in couple of minutes. When the redhead leaped forward and threw him across the street, Diana averted her gaze from the screen.

"What did you do to her." She growled at Klarion when he started giggling like crazy.

"Merely offered her a chance to join the winning side." He tilted his head with a cocky smile, "Because right now...right now you are losing."

"This is not over."

"Now who is the predictable one, I'd love to say see you at the Red Jar but it looks like you'll be busy for quite some time now, Princess."

There was no time left to deal with the little brat and Diana was very aware of that. She clenched her jaw and jumped into the air, flying rapidly towards Gotham. Klarion won the first round and he was right, she would hardly get to Red Jar of Calythos in time to stop him. The only soothing fact was that all items were needed to perform the ritual and there was would still be one more. The Amazon reached the city in a record time, however when she got to the museum her breath got stuck in her throat. Batwoman was straddling Robin's near lifeless body with a knife in her hand, wiping the blood from her jaw with the other one. Hostages were still in the truck but the cloth cover from the back was gone and they could all see what was happening around them. Without further hesitation, Diana flew down, her body crashing into the redhead. In a matter of seconds, she released the civilians, ordering them to run and proceeding into the middle of the street. Just in time to face the Bat who now had blood on more places than just her jaw. Nonetheless she was not fazed by that because as soon as her body regained some stability, Batwoman rushed towards the goddess, not thinking about the consequences.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello! After a break we are back with Legacy stories. I would like to mention our new tumblr ( .com) it's not completely up and running now (this might not be relevant in couple of days) but in case anyone would have any prompts from DC universe, feel free to let us know!

* * *

Diana jumped to the left, swiftly dodging the Bat's attack. She had to decide quickly about her next action. She could capture the redhead without hurting her but Wonder Woman could also stand to punch some sense into her. Before she could consider her options, Batwoman attempted to hit the goddess again. However once again, Diana leaned to the side and gently sent her opponent flying through the street. It didn't really take much of her strength to do that but to her surprise, the response from the redhead was instant. A little bat shaped bomb was stuck to her bracelet. It went off in a second, there was no chance that the Amazon would get hurt by that but it gave her challenger enough time to get close again. Diana could feel the anger rising inside her. She clenched her fists and finally put some effort into the fight. The Bat barely managed to avoid the punch, her hair flew back a bit, clearly showing how much force Wonder Woman was putting into it. Every now and then, between throwing hits around, the goddess checked on Robin's body. He was still unconscious and she didn't have a chance to analyse his injuries. The fight was getting longer than she would like. Batwoman was fast, evading most of the punches. Diana had to stop holding back, not only to save Tim but also to stop Klarion. Her eyes found the redhead, preparing for another attack a few metres in front of her.

When the mortal stormed forward, she didn't hesitate; jumping up and flying directly into the Gotham 'hero'. Impact seemed inevitable but at the last possible moment, the Bat pulled out the grappling hook and disappeared above the Amazon. Huge smoke cloud was left in the street with Diana standing right in the middle of it. Before she could react, Batwoman dropped back, behind the goddess who was currently trying to catch her breath, hitting the heroine into the face with all strength; at least that's what Wonder Woman would consider as a full strength. Unfortunately for the redhead, her blow had no other effect than making her opponent even more enraged. With a loud thud, the Bat crashed into the concrete wall of the museum; leaving a huge dent. The Amazon stood up, watching the only person who deserved her attention now. She jumped to the woman, ignoring the blood that was covering the pale jaw, punching her a few more times. Clearly the goddess kept some self control, since her foe was still alive; barely breathing but alive.

* * *

"Diana!" Weak voice stopped her, "D-diana...don't."

"Tim…" Her voice was dangerously low. He saw Wonder Woman losing her judgment once and it wasn't pretty. Although she was a hero without a doubt, there were moments when she became overcome with her powers. She wouldn't intentionally kill, however sometimes it was necessary. For example when her challenger wouldn't give up. Her fingers clutched the Bat's throat, leaving the mortal gasping for air.

"Don't hurt her…" Tim breathed out, working hard on getting back up. She didn't even get to answer when another smoke bomb went off, covering the both women from his eyes. He could hear the fight continuing inside, his only chance to save his friend was to explain Diana everything Barb found before it would be too late. Although his previous encounter with Batwoman almost cost him his live and keeping himself conscious was taking all of his strength now, "The mask...is cursed!" He screamed, falling back down. Last thing he saw before passing out again were the flashes of more small bombs from Kate's arsenal going off in the smoke. Last thing he heard was a really loud crack.

* * *

The Amazon heard Robin but was not given any time to answer him. Batwoman landed another hit, even though Diana could feel the change. She was getting weaker, slower, yet she wouldn't stop fighting. No human would be that stupid and relentless, which only proved that the curse had to be present. Although now Wonder Woman knew what to do to save her fellow superhero, it looked like it wouldn't be that easy. She grabbed the mask and hoped to take it off but without any warnings, she was thrown back. The little smirk decorated her face, obviously the item was curse and protected by magic. The redhead dropped a few more bat bombs around in the smoke but it didn't help with her plan. She was left kneeling down on the street with the goddess flying towards her; full speed. Diana had to take a calculated risk, her full speed should be enough to break the mask, but if she wouldn't stop at the right time, Batwoman's skull would be crushed in a matter of seconds. The Amazon closed her eyes right before reaching the mortal, stopping her movements after hearing the crack. She remembered how the Bat reacted about taking off her mask in the clock tower. With a deep breath, Diana opened her eyes again and almost choked. An instant wave of regret flooded her mind and tears flooded her eyes at the same time. The only person who was on Wonder Woman's mind last two days was now right in front of her, struggling to open her eyes.

"Kate…" Tears were racing down her cheeks as she pulled the human closer to her, gently removing the strand of hair from Kane's face.

"Y-you...how?" The redhead stammered and leaned into the familiar touch.

"Kate…" The Amazon repeated, her voice merely above whisper, "Your mask was cursed…" She understood why the secret identity of her friend wasn't the first topic of their conversation. She understood why Batwoman was acting the way she was. Yet, Diana wished it would have been different. The guilt from hurting the Bat was slowly creeping up into her mind, "I-I didn't know. I never intended to cause you any pain. I-"

"Princess…" She interrupted her and chuckled softly, "You can make it up to...me."

"Can I?" Diana smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Strong fingers were drifting across Kate's face and neck, trying to assess her injuries.

"We could…" She knew exactly what she wanted to ask, however her courage left as quickly as it appeared and she was left staring up at the goddess in the middle of her sentence. Wonder Woman tilted her head to the side and waited patiently, when Kate tried to look away, she grabbed her chin and forced the eye contact. For the Amazon it was a friendly gesture. For the Batwoman it was something way too intimate. There was a long silence between them, before the Gotham hero finally managed to find her voice again, "We could have a proper training sometime?"

"That can be arranged," Diana nodded and carefully helped Kate into a more comfortable position, "How are you feeling?"

"Like…well...like I crashed into a building several times?" She tried to joke but a serious expression soon appeared on her face, "Did I...did I plant the explosives at…" The Bat wasn't even able to finish, her eyes glued to the rest of her devices stuck to the bracelets.

"You almost killed Tim…" The Amazon moved slightly, making a space for her to see Robin unconscious in the middle of the street.

"No, I-I…" Kate leaned forward, hoping to crawl towards his body but her plan was interrupted by a coughing; more blood covering her jaw.

"Hey…" Diana pulled her back, her eyes wide open. It wasn't hard to remember what could have caused this. Wonder Woman sent her flying into the wall with a more than decent gut punch, "Don't move, Kate."

"I am so sorry…" It was Batwoman's turn to cry. She knew she didn't hurt the Amazon that would be an impossible task for her, but Tim, Tim was a different story. Even though Kate knew why he tried to stop her, she couldn't figure out why would he risk his life instead of contacting Diana right away. She was also sure that Barbara will hate her at least a little for this. She failed in protecting the city, protecting her friends, civilians. She failed. Again. Although this time there were two firm arms wrapped around her, holding her together when she felt like falling apart.

"I knew...you had a heart." Weak voice brought both women back to reality, "And I was hoping you wouldn't kill her…" Tim smiled at the Amazon who was clearly relieved to see him awake again.

"It would have a different outcome if you hadn't…" As always, Diana didn't take all the credit. She wasn't happy with this outcome anyway. "Klarion will come for the third item, if he didn't do that already. I need to go inside but if you'll wait, I can carry you both home."

Tim looked at her and his heart almost broke when he took in the appearance of the heroes. Batwoman was absolutely devastated, she didn't even dare to move her eyes from the ground. Her fingers desperately grasping Diana's armor, hoping to reach at least some kind of safety, something to hold her together. Wonder Woman was kneeling next to her, unharmed but evidently dealing with her own problems in her mind. However the expression on her face was showing two obvious things. She was dedicated to provide everything that Kate could need and she was absolutely disgusted by the idea of letting go even if it was just for a couple of minutes to check on the magic item.

"I...you should get her home, I can..get a cab." He smirked, dead set on giving them some time alone.

"Are you sure?" The Amazon asked, not catching up on why he would do that.

"Yeah, I am...I won't be alone, Barb is waiting for me."

"Alright." She nodded, leaning closer to the redhead, "You stay here, I'll be right back. I promise."

"Diana…" Tim called when she started walking towards the door, "It's not your fault." He knew he was right back in the clock tower. She enjoyed time with Kate and now she was blaming herself for hurting her, even though she couldn't know.

"Just...get home safe." Her voice dull, empty. Robin nodded and watched her disappear in the building.

Kate was still sitting on the ground, not moving, not saying anything. She was shaking slightly, tears never stopped flooding her eyes. First, Tim thought that Kate was in some kind of a shock but upon closer inspection, he saw the fear in her features. He slowly realized what went on in her mind. She put several civilians in danger. She almost killed him and she attempted to kill the woman she is crushing on.

"Kate…" His voice was soothing, unfortunately it wasn't enough to snap her out of it, "I know you couldn't control it. Barb knows too. We are both alive, no one died...that's what matters right?" He waited for an answer but she didn't give him any, "I'll go now, Diana should be back soon. I...if you could see the way she looks at you, she's there for you, Kate...and so are we. Whenever you'll be ready." With that he stood up and proceeded to walk across the street, almost missing the whispered _thank you_ from her.

* * *

While the battle simmered down on the Gotham city streets, a shadowy sly figure made its way into the hollow halls of the fine arts and antiques museum. The witch boy had come to collect the final piece of the unholy collection. His nimble fingers panned over the thin glass panels that protected the item he needed but before Klarion could finally get the item, rather loud noise accompanying dynamic entrance of the heroine interrupted him.

"Oh, brother, it's Miss America again.." The sorcerer rolled his eyes, poking fun at the ensemble she often bore. However the Goddess found even less humor in his jokes than before, a fire was burning inside of her and she had come to enact justice in the most brutal of ways.

"Klarion, I'll have no more of your games! This ends here and now. You have one last chance to come quietly." The Amazon knew a spawn of darkness such as Klarion wouldn't surrender without a fight but a part of her was hoping it could happen. She wanted justice for Kate; justice and blood.

"We both know I'm never quiet, Wonder-bra, why would that change tonight of all nights?" He laughed, floating around the room freely as if the whole situation was nothing short of a bad joke.

"Why do you seek this power, Klarion? To what end? You've caused chaos and anarchy to run rampant, what more do you want?" Despite her rage, Diana was curious about his motivation.

"Tch, did the big bad Soft-man ask you to take special care when you're beating on his villains? Hmmph." Her genuine curiosity and compassion caught the witch boy off guard for a moment, his eyes widened as this side of Wonder Woman was new to him. He quickly snapped out of the trance, making another quip to set the tone of the conversation in his liking, "The chaos is just a byproduct, this is just… Well, let's call it self-preservation." Wonder Woman didn't follow his line of reasoning but that was to be expected when dealing with the incarnate of anarchy. Klarion grinned, baring his teeth for the woman to see, "I can tell by that stupid look on your face you're still as clueless as ever. Once I'm done here you might want to ask the big boys what they've been up to."

The goddess was enraged, she threw her shield toward him, nearly striking the witch boy. The jester summoned an aura of purple smoke around both hands before igniting each, grin on his face became more serious. The fight began immediately after, Wonder Woman kept a firm grasp on her shield; batting away all oncoming magical spells that he casted her way. The twisted figure scoured the exhibits around him, searching for anything and everything he could use to his advantage against the Amazon. With his arms outstretched, Klarion casted a spell upon the statues of men and mythical figures to give them the ability to move. Diana halted her approach toward the witch boy, the statues and armor sets animating themselves into fighting positions toward her. She raised her shield, tapping on it loudly, to invite all of those who dared to start a fight with the warrior. All at once they charged in her direction, each bore a different weapon but were equally outskilled, when they attempted to duel with Wonder Woman. It was a display of pure agility and combat prowess as she trumped them each while still finding ways to distract Klarion from reaching the last item.

"You're really starting to tick me off." Klarion's appearance morphed as he shouted at Diana, his anger disfiguring him for a moment.

"I'm glad to be of service to you, Dark Lord." Wonder Woman was quick to retort, smirking with a sense of pride.

The eyes of Klarion disappeared as he chanted a spell, his aura radiating brightly with colors of a deep red and purple. Those same colors became present in the eyes of a much larger statue of the titan; Atlas. Unlike the other statues he had possessed, she could feel the dark energy boiling within. It was clear this was a true attempt to bring harm, possibly even death. Like before the Amazon invited the enemy to attack her despite its superior height and mass. Once upon her it swung it's foot, Diana attempted to block it but was disarmed in the process. She quickly regained her focus, turning on her back to stop the incoming force of the titan's foot. Wonder Woman could feel the power behind the attack, the statue had an impressive amount of strength parallel to enemies she had faced in the past. No longer containing her strength, the heroine struck the foot of the statue with a single blow; using enough force to topple the titan over. Atlas recovered, he grappled the spherical model of the world he formerly held, throwing it directly at the goddess. As it hurled toward her, Diana matched it's speed, catching up with the sphere only to drop into a slide underneath it. Still sliding, she twirled her lasso, casting it out toward the statue's neck; yanking it down to her level. Once it keeled to her efforts, the warrior delivered a powerful uppercut; shattering it's head. Atlas slumped, the dark magic inside leaving like a vapor. Klarion had managed to assemble what he needed in order to begin his process but not realizing that there were no longer any enemies to distract his opponent. The lasso wrapped around the Green Bell of Uthool just as the witch began to chant the cursed words, interrupting the spell and putting one of the three mystical items in the hands of the Amazon. Klarion hissed, once again losing his human appearance as the anger welled inside his gut.

"No fair, no fair." Klarion spat fire into the air, setting his sights on her before casting a purple bolt of lightning toward her chest. Diana clasped her forearms together on its approach, deflecting back the bolt with her bracelets. Along with the spell came her own power, a concussive blast signature of Wonder Woman. The impending blast disintegrated the witch boy; quickly turning him to ashes. The Princess was relieved at the sight but that soon changed after he reformed right before her very eyes. No matter what she did to strike him, Diana always found herself seemingly unable to cause Klarion any real harm. He simply reformed every time, mocking the Amazon with mimicking voices and crude shapeshifting to play on her emotions. She only succeeded in tiring herself out as the fight drew out longer.

* * *

Kate sat in the safety of the night, her mind struggled to come to terms with the abuse she suffered at the hands of Klarion. Almost all at once she could remember her actions while under the curse; the memories nearly brought her to the job wasn't done, the villain wasn't behind bars. The city belonged to her now, Bruce left her in charge, not Diana. If anyone was going to bring the witch boy down, it had to be her. Batwoman moved toward the museum, breaking into as much as a sprint as possible in her condition.

"Barb, are you there?" The redhead opened a line to the watchtower, her voice was still somewhat rattled but her confidence was building with each passing moment.

"Ka-Batwoman, I'm here, where are you?" Oracle was caught off guard, surprised her friend was still standing after going to to toe with the goddess.

"I'm downtown at the Gotham museum of Antiquities. Triangulate my location, I'll be needing a few favors."

"Are you certain it's smart to get involved while, let's say, shit faced?" Oracle did a double take, both worried and confused for a moment.

"It's not the smart thing to do, but it's the right thing to do." Batwoman launched the grappling hook onto the ledge of the museum, "I need an armor drop, batsuit v8.04; something resistant to wear and tear...and Barb, I need everything we have on Klarion. Everything."

"Payload will drop in forty seconds and I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I went over everything that was relevant to Klarion." With the light tap of a few keys the Batwing was loaded and on its way toward Batwoman's location.

"I know, Barbara. I need his personal files, I need access to Bruce's index."

"Yeah I'd love access to everything but there's even limits to what I can see, Kate." Oracle scoffed.

"You're a hacker...if there's anyone who could pull this off it's you." Batwoman sighed, closing her eyes for a moment, "Look, Diana has been in there for quite some time now so I'm guessing that she needs help. We need to know how he went down the first time all those years ago, for her sake and mine. I can't walk away from this, I can't walk away from her and I'm betting you won't let me walk in there clueless. You'd do the same for Tim."

"Don't think I won't collect on the fat favor you're about to owe me, Kate. Everything's on its way...be safe." Realizing exactly what Batwoman was implying, Oracle decided to bite the bullet and take the risk.

"Wait! I need another favor, last one I swear. Could you kill the lights, cameras, power...everything?"

"You know despite the darkness, that'll kind of give away the fact that you're coming, right?"

"Maybe...but I plan to put on a show." Kate chuckled softly.

"For Klarion?" The surprise in Barbara's voice was clearly audible.

"Heh," Batwoman smirked, suiting up with the recently delivered armor set. "No."

* * *

"How does it feel knowing you're only the second strongest superhero and the guy to snuff you out is well, a guy; not just any man either, one named Super..." Attempting to exacerbate the situation even more, Klarion acquired the appearance of Superman, hovering above his opponent. However, Diana didn't have any insecurities about her own power, at least none she was aware of; perhaps it even fueled her to train harder and keep her humbled.

"You've failed in getting a rise out of me, Klarion, I would say magic is your only speciality but well...you failed at capturing the physique of Superman as well. What are you good for?"

Klarion quickly took offense, morphing into a mix of black and red before giving his answer; dressed as Batwoman. "Turning your loved ones against you and getting under your skin..."

The smirk that decorated Wonder Woman's face disappeared, her eyes grew incredibly wide as she took in the monstrosity in front of her. She usually wasn't affected by emotions but mentioning Kate sent her overboard. Before the Amazon could answer, a sudden, loud thud echoed throughout the museum halls. All the electrical functions of the facility went out at the same time; the alarms, the lights and the cameras. Small, bat-shaped shadow landed next to her.

"Now that hitting him didn't work, can we try it my way?" Although the redhead could feel pain surging all throughout her body and the dreadful shame sitting on her mind, she pretended a grin. Kate knew that as long as Klarion was still out there, the job wasn't done; her job wasn't done. It wasn't hard for Diana to see through the bluffing smile on the Bat's face and she felt the sudden urge to protect her companion; but everything she had tried up to this point was frivolous so the help was a welcomed change.

"Tell me what you need done."

"This'll sound a bit stupid but...try hitting him again."

The Amazon quirked her eyebrow but quickly jumped behind the idea after observing the confidence on Batwoman's face. Now was her chance to prove just how much she trusted the Gotham hero. She charged forward, taking off into a powerful lunge toward Klarion. As soon as Diana made contact with him, she found her sword once again phasing through him; yielding the same result as before. However, this time, the expression of cockiness left the witch boy's face. She followed his line of sight, finding a smirking Kate with a unique cat in her arms. Suddenly the museum was quiet. The sorcerer didn't dare to move as the woman came into possession of his partner in crime. Batwoman pressed the edge of a batarang against the neck of the demonic feline, staring down Klarion with a cocky grin across her face.

"Surprised I know your secret? Arrogance is the downfall of man after all, guess that includes you too, even though...you're just a boy"

"Here I thought lesbians loved cats." Klarion hissed, still not daring to make a move.

"Called in a favor, turns out this mystery wasn't hard to solve. Guess someone let the cat out of the bag." Kate pressed the sharpened tool harder against the creatures neck; enjoying the sight of the scared witch boy.

However to her surprise, he cracked a smile at the pun she delivered. Satisfied, the redhead traded her batarang for an injector with a syringe full of animal sedative and quickly jabbed the cat. Within seconds Teekl fell asleep, severing the connection that kept the sorcerer on the corporeal plane. Without a conscious familiar, Klarion faded away back to where he came from.

"Show off." Diana tilted her head, smiling adoringly at Kate.

"Well...it worked, right? We got him?" She deadpanned, still not able to look at the goddess in front of her.

"I am fairly sure the witch boy enjoyed the show, but do you often do that for villains? I can't imagine Bruce doing that…" The Amazon's voice trailed off, but the sparks in her eyes were showing how much relished in teasing the Bat.

"No...I di-didn't...wait…" The redhead's eyes widen with confusion, however it didn't take her long until she put the pieces together, "Oh…" Her gaze ended up on the comm device in Diana's ear.

"Technology…" Wonder Woman shrugged, leaning closer to Batwoman.

"S-sorry…" Kate whispered when she felt their shoulders brush. She finally gathered enough courage to look at the warrior, her fingers softly grazing the fur of the cat in her arms. Right at that moment, she didn't feel like a hero. Right at that moment, when their eyes met, the Bat tripped over her own feet and if it wouldn't be for Diana's inhuman reactions, the feline companion of Klarion would end up crushed under her body. Strong arms held the fragile mortal up away from the dangerous concrete. Shivers ran down Kate's spine when the realization of how close she was to the goddess struck her. Unfortunately, a sting of pain in her stomach broke the moment for both of them and the redhead fell onto the Amazon completely.

"Kate…" Diana scooped her up without hesitation and jumped up in the air, "I'll get you back to your friends."

"No...d-don't, not there…" Quick answer took Wonder Woman by surprise but the Bat wasn't done talking, "B-batcave."

"Kane tower?" She pulled her closer, planting a gentle kiss on top of Kate's head after feeling the slight nod.

The rest of the journey was quiet. They reached the tower in record time, well if Batwoman would be able to fly, it would probably be different. Before Kate could protest, the heat radiating from the Amazon was gone and replaced by a warm blanket that Diana quickly threw over her. Everything was a little hazy for the young heroine, she could hear the goddess talking with someone but she couldn't focus enough to recognize who. However what she could recognize, was Diana's voice barely above whisper, telling her that she will be right back. After that her brain short circuited, after that Wonder Woman's delicate lips pressed against hers.


	6. Chapter 6

You can read more about Diana's visit to National City in our Supergirl story! ( s/12611322/1/Supergirl-Legacy)

Tumbl - dculegacy

* * *

Kate woke up a few hours later, her father was sitting next to the bed and Diana was nowhere in sight. She groaned, her body dropped back into the sheets with a loud thud. Colonel Kane was up at his feet right away, holding a hand of his daughter. It was hard for him to watch her in so much pain. She always did this, whenever she got beaten up, Kate pushed herself further and further. However this was first time her body gave up on her, this was the first time she fought a goddess. The thing that was even harder to watch, was Kate's face when she looked around the batcave and realized that the Amazon still wasn't back.

"Kate…" He whispered and leaned down to kiss her forehead. She smiled back at him, sad, maybe even scared smile that made him worry even more.

"I-I didn't know dad...I didn't know about the curse…" Her voice was weak, Kate didn't sound like a Batwoman anymore, she sounded like his little girl and Jacob Kane was overcome with a sudden urge to protect her.

"Of course you didn't." He voiced his reassurance and helped the fragile redhead to sit up.

"Where is-"

"Diana?" Colonel asked but was taken back by her quick response.

"The cat. Where is the cat."

"He took care of it."

"He's back?" Kate asked surprised coloring her voice.

"No, he just sent someone else to pick up the animal." Even though his daughter was part of the bat-family, Jacob never really enjoyed talking about Batman. The room was silent after that. She avoided looking at her father but the tingling feeling that reappeared in her lips forced her to talk.

"She...she didn't come back yet?"

"Kate, there are things that can delay even a goddess." Colonel smiled at the concerned look that took over his daughter's face. It was rare to see the Batwoman interested in someone, especially after what she went through with Maggie Sawyer.

"I know...I was just…wondering-" Small chuckle escaped her lips, "I-Diana…"

"My daughter was kissed by a Wonder Woman." Jacob said proudly and smirked as bewilderment appeared on Kate's face.

"How?"

"I arrived before she left. Saw it all from the first row." His grin grew wider, he leaned in and hugged her. She missed this.

Ever since Maggie left, Kate didn't allow anyone to get close to her again. It worked perfectly but only until the Amazon decided to crash into her little fairytale world and destroy every wall that was supposed to protect her. When Diana's arms locked around her and saved her from the devastating impact with the concrete streets of Gotham, she knew there was no way of stopping her feelings. If something is kept bottled up for a long time, once it finds an option to escape, it's impossible to reverse it. And Batwoman kept all this down for months. Colonel Kane opened his mouth to talk but Kate's phone started buzzing.

"I should take that...it could be…"

"Diana?" Jacob offered.

"Important." She rolled her eyes and reached for the phone.

"I'll go get us some food."

"Hello?" The Bat waited until the Colonel left the room before answering.

" _Kate. Good to hear your voice."_

"Bruce? You shouldn't…"

" _Be calling? Don't worry. It's all safe. I heard about Klarion. Minor destruction of the museum is unfortunate but I will take care of it. I also heard about your clash with a certain goddess. I am glad that you are okay...I don't know a lot of people who would be standing after all this."_

"Who told you?" She smirked at his compliment and jumped off of the bed, trying to really prove that she can stand.

" _Barbara called. Tim is...well beaten up but he will be okay. I sent Dick back to deal with the cat. He's bringing it back to me."_

"W-will you come back soon?" The pain surged through abdomen and she almost dropped down to her knees.

" _I wouldn't want to promise something that is not certain, Kate."_

"Can I ask for your advice?" The redhead spoke again after a brief hesitation.

" _Always."_

"I-uh-it's not like...fuck...see...Diana…"

" _Oh."_

"Oh?"

" _I am not sure if I am the best person to give relationship advice. I can only say...trust your gut, Kate. I know it didn't work out very well with Maggie. However, Diana is not Maggie. If she wants something, she usually gets it."_

"I don't doubt that." The heroine scoffed and closed her eyes for a moment, ignoring the pain.

" _Your instincts are right most of the time, it's up to you to decide if the risk is worth it or not."_ His voice wasn't colored with any emotions, if Kate wouldn't know better, she could swear that there was a robot at the other end of this phone call. " _You are doing a good job in Gotham. Hopefully we'll speak in person soon."_

She listened to the annoying beeping coming out from her phone, there was so much more she wanted to talk about. Door to the batcave opened and her father slipped back in with a boxes of chinese food. Even though her stomach was craving absolutely anything at that point, the pain was stronger. Right after Kate turned around, everything went black once again and she passed out.

* * *

When she woke up again, everything around her was way too white, the bright light was hurting her eyes and the smell of disinfectant was making her dizzy. Kate knew right away what her father did. It wasn't the smartest decision but she understood. However, the risk of revealing her identity by taking her to a hospital was enormous. Certain injuries were simply hard to explain without mentioning Diana. She turned her head to the side and saw Jacob talking with Gotham cops. There wasn't much she could do now, except trust her dad to handle this situation. Before Kate could recognize who else was outside her room, one of the detectives stepped in. The redhead recognized her old friend right away.

"Renee?" Her body immediately reacted to the familiar warmth as the cop gently stroked the hair off of her face.

"Oh, Kate...what happened this time?" Renee Montoya was Kate's former lover. Although their relationship was practically nothing compared to what the Bat had with Maggie, they both couldn't fight the urge to smile.

"Long story...can-uh-can you make this go away?"

"You mean, not let anyone in on your little secret?" The smirk on detective's face made Kate chuckle, "I'll take care of it."

"Thank you." Kane tried to read face of the woman in front of her, it usually wasn't so hard, but injuries and the painkillers were limiting her abilities. To be fair Kate could be blind and she would still get it right. Renee never stopped trying to get back what they had before, even though being Batwoman was more important than the relationships, maybe it was time to focus a little on herself.

"Tell me what happened, who did this to you?"

"Bad guys?" The heroine offered, but clearly it wasn't enough.

"Your father told me that you pushed yourself way past your limits…"

"I think I know my limits better than anyone." Kate shrugged, watching the cop cautiously.

"Still the same reckless attitude, huh?" It was Montoya's turn to chuckle.

"One of the reasons you fell for me."

"One of the reasons things ended that way…" Renee deadpanned, taking a deep breath before continuing, "So will you tell me who hurt you this much?" Her fingers softly skated down to Kate's stomach.

"I was just too much for you to handle." The redhead laughed, regretting it right away as a muscles in her body tightened and the unbearable pain spread everywhere; starting right where Diana's fist landed just a few hours earlier. The cop moved her hand away from the injured area and leaned forward, her lips leaving a small kiss on top of the Bat's head.

"It's hard to not help when I see you in pain…"

"I don't think you can help with this, although I do appreciate the concern."

"Kate, just say the name and I'll hunt them down. I promise." Her voice was barely audible, the Gotham hero was able to hear her only because she was so close. It was obvious what Renee was hoping to achieve, her forehead resting against Kate's now. Just one precise move and she could kiss her again, just like she did hundred of times.

"I'd love to see you try…" Kane whispered back.

Montoya was considering if this was the right time. She was waiting for so long, but forcing an injured woman into something wasn't her cup of tea. But it felt like now was her chance, however upon closer inspection of Kate's facial expression, she could see the difference. There was a hesitation in her eyes, one that Renee never saw before, one that was making her feel like a third wheel to someone who wasn't in the room with them.

"I'd want to see that too." Unexpected third voice entered the conversation, causing the cop to jump away from the redhead; her eyes opening impossibly wide when she recognized who just walked into the room.

"Diana!" Kate almost bounced off of the mattress, wincing in pain. That resulted in Wonder Woman jumping towards bed and carefully pushing the human back down. Her action was accompanied by Renee's annoyed scoff.

"Stay down, darling." The Amazon smirked as she heard another scoff.

She didn't plan this, but she certainly wouldn't feel sorry for listening on the exchange between the two women. Kate was hers. Diana waited for such a long time to find someone who would make her feel at least a little like Steve did and the Gotham hero did exactly that. She had a couple of relationships after him, but none of them would get even close to what she lost with her first love. Until she came to the police gala. Until her eyes landed on the woman who was now looking up at her in awe. She knew now, that her eyes are mirroring Kate's. The goddess was lost in two green pools that belonged to one of the strongest mortals she ever met. It was still a mystery to her, how Batwoman managed to survive the curse, fight with her and then with Klarion. The room was silent for a moment, Diana's thoughts were coursing through her head and she completely forgot about the cop standing next to them.

"I-I thought that...you wouldn't come back…" The redhead voice sounded weak; weaker than she was used to.

"I thought you are supposed to be smart one." The Amazon joked and an affectionate smile formed on her lips as she felt the redhead's body relaxing in her arms. Kate pouted and Diana just really wanted to kiss her again, to tell her that she doesn't need to worry about anything, but there was something that had to be done first. "I believe you know the way out, detective?"

"We were in the middle of conversation." Montoya straightened up, even though it was now obvious why she felt like third wheel.

"And now you are not." The goddess stood up from the bed. She was taller than Renee, the smile on her face showed signs of amusement. Wonder Woman enjoyed the occasional challenge, but if the cop would overstep, she was ready to protect what was hers. Suddenly the Bat felt a little uncomfortable. It was beyond a doubt that Diana would not hurt anyone for something so trivial but even the image of Renee encountering the same pain Kate did right at that moment was making her sick. She didn't dare to interrupt the staring competition between the two of them; praying that Montoya would be smart enough to not start anything.

"If you change your mind, you know where to find me, Kate…"

Before the cop could say something else, the Amazon walked her out from the room. She didn't touch her, only a slight change of her posture was all it took. The redhead took a deep breath when the door closed and her eyes followed Diana's every move. Her brain managed to short circuit as the woman in front of her flexed her muscles while she took of the leather jacket. In a matter of seconds, the mattress dipped under the weight of another body and Kate was being attentively scooped up, her head ended up resting on the warriors chest, the solid heartbeat calming her immediately. Everything slowed down and her eyelids were slowly closing but that wasn't what she wanted. She moved upwards and wrapped an arm around the body next to her.

"So…" The Bat started anxiously, "How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough."

"I...I-uh…"

"Kate?" Diana stopped her, feeling like she should talk first, "During my trip to National City, I had time to talk with my friend."

"Alright…"

"I know that this isn't easy for you, but I-I didn't feel this way for quite some time. You are strong, Kate. Stronger than most humans...and smart and you don't give up. Plus your batsuit is-uh-fitted perfectly." The Amazon tried not to go into details more than it was necessary, "This would probably be a huge step into the unknown for you but I'd be honored to be by your side through everything."

"Diana…"

"I am going to protect you, just...let go of the past." It wasn't hard to guess that Batwoman's previous relationships crashed because of her secret identity but that wouldn't be a problem for Wonder Woman, "I know that you don't need protection, but I want to do that. I want you."

"Dia-"

"But…" She interrupted the redhead again, "I am not going to share you with anyone, Kate. If you'll say yes, I want all of you."

The Gotham hero waited. When she was sure that the heroine was done talking, Kate opened her mouth to say some witty remark but nothing came out. Before she realized it, the tears were falling down her cheeks. The Amazon's intense gaze wasn't making her uncomfortable, quite the opposite actually. Her eyes felt like home and they were conveying so many raw emotions that the Bat found herself slowly falling apart in the safety of strong arms. She went over her conversation with Bruce, he told her to follow her instincts. She wanted Diana. That was one thing that made complete sense. Only a memory of the kiss was bringing chills down her spine. Image of Wonder Woman with someone else was making her sick; turning her stomach upside down. This feeling was much stronger than with Renee or even with Maggie; too strong to be ignored. However there was the other thing. Kate Kane was never able to give everything to anyone. No matter how much she tried, it always ended horribly and she certainly didn't want to hurt the woman in front of her. Diana didn't move, her eyes sparkling, her lips curled into a curious friendly smile. Suddenly Kate understood why Bruce said that the goddess usually gets what she wants. It was impossible to resist her, but to be fair, she had no intention to do that. Her mind went over the speech she just got over and over again and then it hit her. Batwoman is the one who is strong, the one who is smart. Kate is nothing without the bat mask, just another broken human.

"You can't have both, Diana." Was all she managed to choke out.

"What do you mean?" The Amazon raised her eyebrows and waited for an explanation.

"You'll have to choose…"

"Between?"

"Kate or Batwoman." Her voice was barely audible, she was fairly sure that Batwoman will be the option for Wonder Woman. It would all make much more sense. Hero with another hero, not goddess with an unrepairable mortal.

"I want both…"

"That's not how this works." She could feel the soft touch of a finger copying her jawline.

"It can." It was a simple suggestion, or maybe the heroine was stalling with the obvious choice.

"No." The redhead shook her head, fingers digging desperately into the pillow.

"In that case…" Diana closed her eyes for a brief moment, "There is only one acceptable choice." Smile on her face grew wider, she looked at the mortal again; wiping the tears with her thumb, "I choose Kate."

"What?" At that second, everything stopped. Nothing existed except the Amazon in front of her. She was so sure that Diana will pick her superhero persona, she never even considered the fact, that the goddess might actually be more interested in keeping their work relationship professional and rather enjoy the time with the real her.

"Is it that surprising?"

"I-I just…" The Bat didn't know what to say, instead she leaned closer and waited.

"You think that Batwoman is worth more than you are?" Diana also leaned in, however she kept some distance, her lips softly brushing against Kate's.

"I-I…"

"Batwoman is nothing without Kate."

After that, Wonder Woman closed the gap between them. Even though she paid attention to the human in her arms, she was still able to gather several things happening around her. For example, it took the redhead over half a minute to start breathing again, her abdomen muscles were clenching in pain thanks to the position she was in. One sore whimper escaped from her lips and Diana didn't wait for anything else. She lifted the human up, which resulted in Kate biting down on her bottom lip in surprise, the Amazon growled, but didn't stop the motion. In a matter of seconds, the goddess was straddling the fragile Gotham hero. She was being really careful, instead of ravishing the body underneath her, Diana focused on the responses she was receiving. Kate's touches were really shy at the beginning, however it didn't take long and her hand was resting against Diana's collarbone and smoothly sneaking behind her neck.

"Wait." Kate breathed out and her features lightened up with astonishment when the Amazon leaned back right away. Although she didn't lean that far back, "This means that...when I-I'll go out as…"

"I will keep my distance." Diana assured her and chuckled at the mortal who had obvious trouble with breathing, "I want you to know, that I respect everything that you do as Batwoman and I'd never try to tell you who you should be...but...I will keep an eye on you. That won't change. Even if you'd decide to not put that suit on ever again, I'll still be here." The fire in her eyes made Kate gulp several times, before she could even react, Wonder Woman leaned closer to her ear and whispered; huge grin decorating her face, "But...please do keep putting it back on."

"Oh god…" The redhead rolled her eyes and giggled, the blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Goddess, dear, goddess." Diana deadpanned and kissed her again. This time it was a short kiss, but both women were left with heavy breathing.

"Are you seriously leaving again?" Kate whined when the Amazon jumped off of the bed.

"You need to rest…" Her voice was soft and caring.

"I am hurt." She pouted, "Come back!"

"Darling…" The whisper sent another shiver up and down her spine, Diana dragged thumb over Kate's bottom lip, "That is exactly the reason why I have to leave."

The Gotham hero was left in her hospital room, staring at the closed door with her mouth wide open. She wasn't alone for a long, the door opened again and Jacob Kane walked in. Boxes of food in his hands and proud expression on his face.

"I brought food, it might be a bit cold now though. I didn't want to interrupt your…" He coughed to cover up his next words, "Make out session,"

Kate pinched the bridge of her nose, before pulling the blanket over her face.


	7. Chapter 7

The next few hours in Diana's life were more hectic than her usual afternoons. However the look on Kate's face when she walked through the door was priceless. The mortal was failing in keeping her composure around the amazon, let alone with Donna standing next to her. She observed the reactions of the Gotham hero with probably a little too smug grin.

"Wh-what?" Kate stammered out, her eyes wide in confusion. Not only that she thought Diana was in room with her the whole time, but now she'd have to deal with two of them.

"Well…" Donna turned around and faced the princess.

"What...uhh, what is happening?" The redhead was half freaked out and half absolutely amazed by what was going on in front of her.

"Dear…" The heroine took last couple of steps toward the hospital bed and pulled the human closer to her, "This is Donna, my...childhood friend."

"Why is she here? An-and why does she look like you?" Kate looked back at the other amazon, "Why didn't you say something when I...when I started talking?"

"I wasn't allowed to."

"What do you me-"

"Kate. Look at me." As soon as the eyes of her partner met hers, Diana took a deep breathe and if they would be alone, the conversation would most likely end there; but somehow the goddess managed to control herself. "This, the way you look at me, if you didn't notice that it's not me...Donna can take care of Gotham for some time."

"Are you leaving again?" Her voice was showing a wide range of emotions.

"You're coming with me this time…" Wonder Woman replied.

Comfortable silence filled the room, Donna Troy was observing her long time friend and princess of Themyscira. It was very rare to see her this relaxed. Actually last time she saw her like this was back on the island, when they were training together.

"I'll stay here and protect the city until Robin and Batwoman recovers." Troy confirmed the plan that they prepared earlier.

"Thank you." Diana nodded at her friend, "Be careful."

"I will." With that, the amazon left the room.

"So…" Kate was still a little puzzled, looking after Diana's double.

"So?"

"At least you came in before it would get awkward…"

"Is that so?" Goddess smirked, softly nudging Batwoman's shoulder.

"Did you-uh-ever slept with her?"

"With Donna?" She raised her eyebrows, waiting for a clever response from her human companion.

"She's hot." Kate simply retorted.

"Uh...she looks just like me?" Bewilderment was coloring her voice.

"Exactly my point." The Bat shrugged, "So why does she need to take care of Gotham until I recover?"

"I figured that you could use some time off…" It was Diana's turn to shrug.

"So what you are saying is-"

"Is that you are coming with me to hide the magic items."

"But I am Batw-"

"You are also Kate and ignoring that is not going to help anyone, least of all...us."

"You should really work on not interrupting people."

"And miss that adorable pout you do every time? I don't think so." The Amazon slid off of the bed and stepped between Kate's legs, her arms resting around the mortal's neck.

"A-adorable...pout? Are you confusing me with someone else?"

"I don't think I do, but it's possible…"

"Is it?" Kate eyes flew wide open at the implication that Diana might be interested in other person.

"Of course not." The goddess shook her head and leaned in to give the redhead a small peck on the lips, "So are you free to leave hospital today?"

"Uh huh." She nodded absolutely lost in stealing little kisses from the heroine in front of her.

Conversation stopped for a moment, when Diana gave up on resisting Batwoman's attempts for a proper kiss. Her fingers immediately tangling in the red hair, gently holding the human close. Kate gasped when she felt Diana's other hand sneaking under the hem of her shirt. The Amazon trailed her hand softly from the stomach to the back and it didn't take long before she scooped up the frail body and moved it forward; their hips meeting for the first time. Kate felt her composure leaving quickly and since the door to her room were still half open, she managed to pull away from her partner. Both of them breathing heavily, lost in their own thoughts.

"You wouldn't believe…" Diana started talking. "How much I regret beating you. I-I could have stopped you differently...maybe with the lasso…"

"Hey." The redhead cupped her face, her voice soothing, "Don't go there. It's in the past and-uh-you have to let go of the past right?" She reminded the goddess her own words.

"That is a bit harder to do if-"

"Oh, this better be good. First official excuse from Wonder Woman."

"If all I want to do is not possible because of the injuries…" The Amazon finished, her eyes piercing into Kate's.

"Oh…" She smiled nervously, "Maybe we can...start with dinner?"

"There is a carnival, they have this really good ice cream...does that sound better than dinner?" Diana asked with a hopeful expression on her face.

"You just want the ice cream…" Kate laughed, "But...alright. I could use some cotton candy."

"Cotton candy?"

"Oh god." She narrowed her eyes, leaning away from the goddess, "You never had cotton candy?"

Diana just shrugged, pulling Kate off of the hospital bed. But, before the human reached the floor, the Amazon scooped her up and walked out of the room without a word. Expression on Bat's face was hard to guess for her, however it wasn't something the goddess would worry about. The looks they got from the hospital staff and even the mere civilians were making the redhead uncomfortable. Kate knew that since now she was officially dating Wonder Woman and she became more aware of the situation. Her body started shaking and Diana caught up on that before Kate could hide it. The pair of brown eyes looked down at her. They left the building and the whole street could now gaze upon the princess of Themyscira and her new partner. The mortal shifted in her arms, but Diana didn't let go.

"I-I can walk?..." It was something between statement and question.

"You have to rest." The Amazon refused.

"Everyone is staring at us…" Kate's voice was merely above whisper.

"Let them."

"Wha-why?" The whole situations seemed absurd to her.

"Because my dear, now they all know, that you are with me…" Diana locked her arms tighter around the human and smiled. It was that friendly, radiant smile that left Kate without breath.

"Did-uh-did you just publicly claimed me?" Her eyes flew wide open and the surprise colored her voice.

"Maybe?"

"Asshole." The redhead softly punched Wonder Woman's shoulder.

"Is that so?" Diana chuckled as her eyes landed on the mortal again.

"I...I mean...no?" The Bat nuzzled closer to the Amazon. Familiar warmth proceeded to calm her nerves a little.

When the goddess jumped and left the ground far behind them, Kate threw her arms around Diana's neck and closed her eyes. Last time the flew like this, Batwoman was barely conscious. And before, she pushed the Amazon away. Now she was hoping to never leave her side. Wonder Woman made her feel safe. Most importantly, Wonder Woman made her feel. It didn't take long and Kate could see the jet. It was one thing to see the princess in a fight, but seeing her stand next to the now not so invisible jet was a completely different experience.

"All the magic items are inside, we just need to visit an old...friend...and deliver them to the place." She vaguely explained the plan.

"Place?" Kate asked as she managed to find some balance when Diana put her back on the ground.

"Shadowcrest."

"Great…" The Bat scoffed. She did hear about the hugely magic castle that belonged to the Zatara family, but she wasn't too keen on the visit.

"Don't worry," The Amazon grabbed Kate's chin and pulled her close for a quick kiss, "You are coming with me just to keep me company. No fighting…"

"I'll try, but no promises." The redhead smirked and steppen into the jet.

Batwoman walked around, her eyes scanning everything around her. Kate never thought about being on Diana's ship. Yet somehow it still was just like she'd imagine. The princess was putting directions into the computer, soon after they jet lifted and moved forward. Communication device on the ship went on and the monitor in front of her lit up.

"Where is Kate?" Annoyed voice echoed through the jet, forcing the Bat to follow Diana into the pilot cabin.

"Beth? Wha-?"

"Let me say hi to her!" Somewhat familiar voice could be heard from background.

"Is that?" Kate's voice was full of disbelief.

"Hi! Oh I didn't see you for so long, cousin." Bette Kane appeared next to Beth and smiled.

"What are you two...doing together?"

"We are going to help, until you return." Hawkfire explained.

"Or until we get bored…" Beth added, her interest in suddenly turning Red Alice into a hero was unknown to Kate.

"Hey I see you made a new special friend, will you introduce us?" Bette grinned, not caring if she made things awkward for her cousin.

"Well, this is Bette Kane, my cousin and also...Hawkfire." The Bat looked at Diana, trying to look calm. "And this is Diana, Wo-"

"Wonder Woman!" Bette interrupted her, "So nice to see you... I've heard a lot about you." She winked into the camera and Kate mouth stayed wide open in shock.

"Really?" The Amazon focused on the woman next to her. Her eyes following Kate's every move.

"Yes really." Beth jumped in, "She wouldn't shut up about you." Her expression was pretty much unreadable. Batwoman's on the other hand was crystal clear. Green eyes looked up at Diana and the amount of emotions which flooded Kate's mind was almost overwhelming. She was pulled out of her head by a finger that started gently copying her jawline.

"O-okay... That's-uh-I am happy to hear that?" Kate offered, losing her train of thoughts.

"She's not paying attention, Bette…"

"I want to say that it's good?" Diana pressed the button and ended the call without saying anything.

The atmosphere in the room was tense. The human was sure that even a slightest action will get a response from the goddess and she couldn't decide if she was up to the challenge. For a moment her mind wandered back and she made a note to get back on Barb for putting her sister and cousin up to this. Kate knew for a fact that she never mentioned Diana to Bette. After few minutes, the princess moved forward, leaving the cabin and tugging on the mortal's arm. Fortunately, her human companion was smart enough to get the hint and Kate followed the Amazon into the cargo bay. Without a warning, she was pulled right into Diana's arms. The Bat gasped in pain, when her muscles reminded her about the previous events. Groan escaped past her lips as the goddess momentarily forgot to keep her strength in check. Kate bit by bit relaxed and leaned most of her body weight against the Amazon, hoping to relieve some of the ache in her stomach. Wonder Woman's arms were helping the Bat to stay on her feet.

Diana began to question her decision about bringing Kate with her, especially after that fight near the museum. Human body probably needed more time to recover from a clash with a goddess. But leaving Batwoman in Gotham would make them both vulnerable. This way, the Amazon had at least some control over the situation. What she didn't think through, was the size of her ship for this trip. Kate needed to lay down and rest and there was no space. She picked the mortal up and carefully walked back into the cabin, putting her down on one of the seats. The Bat groaned again when Diana moved away from her, trying to provide her some space. She was pulled back by a surprisingly firm arm. Squeezing next to the Gotham hero seemed impossible, yet their bodies fit perfectly together. Kate exhaled and her lips started curling up more and more with every passing second. The Amazon didn't have a special plan for Kate's recovery, but she decided to take her to Themyscira after this mission.

"Diana?" Weak voice brought her back to reality.

"What is it, darling?" She answered smiling at the woman in her arms.

"How do you drive this thing?" Kate asked, her eyes trying to assess the control panel in front of her.

"Really?" The goddess raised her eyebrows, "You could have asked anything...and yet this is what you want to know?"

"I might want to borrow it?" The Bat retorted.

"I don't think my jet was designed to achieve revenge on your family members, my dear." Energetic laughter echoed through the ship and Kate couldn't help but stare up at her in awe.

"Was it that obvious?" She managed to choke out.

"Or maybe I can read minds?" Wonder Woman was focusing all of her energy on keeping a serious face.

"That's...I didn't know…" The human was struggling. Her mind was flooded by everything that she definitely wouldn't want to make public between them and Kate failed in keeping all of it in order. She also never heard that Diana would have abilities like that. "Are you making fun of me?"

"I would never do that, Kate!" Princess pretended to be offended, but her grin sabotaged the attempt to stay serious.

"Funny…" The Bat rolled her eyes, "So...you can't read minds?"

"I don't need powers to read yours." The Amazon shrugged.

Wiggling out of the chair was harder than Diana expected. Especially because Batwoman was stronger than she should be in her current state. However, keeping Wonder Woman in one place was a task that even the strongest mortal couldn't achieve. Their conversation was left unfinished as Diana left the cabin to check on the cargo.

Kate was alone with her thoughts for a moment. She still felt bad about falling under the influence of Klarion's curse, but right after the redhead closed her eyes, her mind wandered somewhere else. Everyone was covering for Batwoman. Kate Kane finally got some time off. Bruce's voice echoed through her head. _You definitely deserve this, Kate. Just relax, everything is under control._ Young Gotham hero didn't notice the Amazon entering the cabin again. She was too busy replaying the fight with Diana in her head. It was hard, because Kate felt like the memory belonged to someone else. However, it was hers. The pain in her stomach reminded her that much. Batwoman could have died that night. She fought a goddess and she should be thankful that her heart was still beating; but Kate didn't feel thankful. Sudden change of direction of the jet pulled her out of the memory, her green eyes opened and her gaze settled on Diana's unreadable face. Before any of them could say anything, the jet turned again and Kate almost ended up on the floor. The Bat managed to lower the impact of the evasive maneuver with her arms. Nonetheless she couldn't stop the painful groan building in her throat. If Kate wouldn't know better, she would seriously started to doubt Wonder Woman's ability to drive this jet. Autopilot was leading them around a massive storm and the Princess of Themyscira started hoping that this mission will be over soon. She tried to figure out what Kate was thinking about before, but as soon as Diana could hear the painful whines, her heart sank.

"What's going on?" The redhead asked, not missing a single change on Diana's face.

"You're in pain."

"It's not that bad…"

"Kate, not only that...I did this to you, but now I also brought you with me. I didn't consider your comfort at all."

"Well-uh-sooner we get this done, sooner we can get back to that carnival?" The Bat smiled.

"I am afraid it won't be possible, my dear." The Amazon refused and her eyes were focused on something outside; far behind the horizon.

Kate narrowed her eyes, trying to understand what that meant. She wasn't successful in that, but Diana didn't bother to help. There were several logical explanations, either Wonder Woman realized she made a huge mistake by picking Kate, or she was needed somewhere else right after this mission or maybe, maybe she has something else planned for them. The Bat couldn't tell and at this point she was too afraid to ask.

"I didn't think that one sentence is all it takes to make Batwoman scared." Diana moved toward Kate, grabbing one of her hands, "I want to take you to Themyscira... instead of the carnival...if-if that's okay?"

"Whoa...I-"

"You said you would like to have a proper training. I can show you the training that I went through. Well, to some degree." Princess corrected herself immediately. It was pretty obvious that a human would not survive.

"But, what about Gotham? Batman is not there and-"

"I found a plenty of people to take care of the city. Plus, if they will need help, I will personally fly you back." The cabin was silent for a moment. This offer was something Kate couldn't refuse. No human was ever invited to the Paradise Island. Except that one lucky guy who brought Diana out into the world. Also apparently everyone was willing to lend a hand to Wonder Woman so Gotham should be safe.

"Diana?"

"Yes?"

"Can you even do that?" Kate asked, leaning toward the Amazon.

"Do what?"

"Can you bring a human there just like that?"

"Darling…" Her voice dropped to the lower range, "I am a Princess of Themyscira and you definitely aren't just some mortal."

"Using social status to get a vacation. Noted." The Bat chuckled and closed the distance between them; humming when her lips met Diana's.

"First we have some work to do." Wonder Woman smirked and leaned back, hesitant to look away from Kate's face, "We are here."


	8. Chapter 8

Jet landed safely on the ground next to an enormous mansion. Kate was bewildered, her eyes scanning the house through the window. She didn't feel comfortable stepping out of the invisible jet without her suit. Kate wasn't planning to leave before visiting the batcave, unfortunately, Diana had other plans.

"Kate?" the Amazon's voice forced the redhead to turn around.  
"Yes?"  
"What's on your mind, my dear?" Diana took a few steps closer to her companion.  
"I...I am not used to going out like this?" She pointed at her normal clothes.  
"Like what?" Wonder Woman smiled. "Like Kate? You probably should get used to it…"  
"Hmm but Kate usually doesn't come to places like this." The Bat deadpanned, her gaze back on the Shadowcrest mansion.  
"You want to stay here?" Diana teased her, while reaching for a black sport bag on the floor.  
"I am inclined to say yes, but I am worried that you'd get lost without me."  
"Mmm...is that so?" Goddess looked entertained. "In that case, you should get dressed."  
"You brought it?" Kate's voice jumped higher when the batsuit landed in her arms.  
"How could I forget…" Diana whispered more for herself.

The Amazon watched the mortal cautiously, ready to step in and help at the first sign of pain. Batwoman was of course more than capable of getting in and out of her suit, even when she was hurt but Diana wanted to help. Kate slipped into the suit without problem but locking her belt was an impossible task. Her arm wouldn't bend behind her back and the red leather piece was hanging out of reach. Before the Bat could even say a single word, she felt the belt locking around her waist. Diana knew. Radiant smile decorated Batwoman's face as her back pressed against the goddess. For a brief moment, Kate closed her eyes and let her mind wander. She was surprised by how much she was looking forward to visiting Themyscira. The visit wasn't completely unexpected. She was the one dating Wonder Woman now, but there was something terrifying about meeting other Amazons. Although there was something more urgent. Shadowcrest stood up on the horizon. Batwoman could swear that she could feel the magic in the air as soon as Diana opened the cargo bay. Kate made a few steps forwards, but something moving in the grass stopped her.

"Uhh...Diana?" Her voice sounded insecure, her eyes looking for the Amazon.  
"Yes, my dear?" The goddess was completely oblivious to her surroundings. She saw the magic mansion several times and it definitely wasn't the only kind of magic she saw during her time in the world.  
"I don't...I don't have a good feeling about this place." The Bat almost whimpered.  
"Why is that?" She closed the door to the cargo bay, making sure that the items are still secured inside for now.  
"Just a feeling…" The redhead answered, her arm locking around the Amazon, preventing her from stepping into the grass in front of them.  
"Probably just security measures."  
"Perhaps we could...fly?" The idea of going through without knowing if it's deadly wasn't Kate's favorite. She didn't like any of this and Diana flying them to the mansion was a way to avoid a lot of issues.

Shadowcrest belonged to the Zatara family for a long time now. They were all excellent magicians. But Zatanna, she didn't know the true extent of her powers and even Wonder Woman seemed to be hesitant about using her abilities. Her gaze followed the movements in the grass and Diana began to notice the odd things around them. The grass was dark, maybe burned at some places. Someone was fighting here. Recently. Sudden lightning across the sky illuminated the forest that was now between them and the house. Neither of them had any idea about what they could encounter there. However Diana was sure that anything created by the young magician would exceed her expectations. That was a reason why she wouldn't dare to fly. Not unless it would be absolutely necessary. Kate was waiting for an answer, but the Amazon was quiet. Her eyes focused on the trees, her jaw clenched.

"I guess that means no?"  
"I am afraid so." She nodded and made the first step into the grass.

Just like that, everything stopped. Diana waited, ready for an attack. The movements coordinated and whatever it was, was coming directly for the intruder. Needless to say, she was expecting it and smoothly stepped to the side. At least seven large snakes thrust out of the grass. They missed the Amazon, but she wasn't the only one in this direction. Diana turned around and with one single-handed strike of her sword, she cut their heads off. Kate was about to thank her saviour, when the dead bodies disappeared back into the grass. Grass in which the princess was still standing.

"Diana, get out of there." Kate growled, annoyed by the image of another fight in her state.  
"No. You get over here. We have to go through, Kate. The longer we wait...the more dangerous it is." She swiftly persuaded the mortal into following her. "Give me your hand."  
"What? Afraid you will really get lost?" The redhead joked, her fingers interlocking with Diana's.  
"No, Kate." The Amazon looked back. "I am afraid that you will."

It made sense. Any defense that Zatanna put up would first attack the weakest link in the group and for now that was Batwoman. Even though Kate had no doubts about Wonder Woman being able to protect her, she didn't feel comfortable. Without any warning, Diana pulled her arm and the Bat ended up on the ground behind the Amazon. The pain from the impact was spreading through her body. Kate regained control over her breathing, but the rest was blurry. She could practically taste the evil aura enveloping them. There was only one movement in the field of grass now. Much bigger, much faster and moving from side to side. Batwoman felt the cold creeping into her muscles and bones. She couldn't get up, her only choice was to crawl forward; to the edge of the forest. Diana was busy with what turned out to be a gigantic snake. It was much bigger than what attacked them before. She deflected one attack with her shield and managed to hit the monster with the sword. Unfortunately, the cut closed right after and the snake was unharmed. The goddess stumbled back under another heavy attack. She noticed that the body of this creature was made by the smaller snakes. When her body hit the ground for the first time, Diana could feel the same cold as Kate. It was unfamiliar; magic. Next time the Amazon looked up, she gulped and froze. The snake grew bigger and was now hovering over her. For the first time in her life the princess of the Amazons felt like a prey. For the split second Diana knew how the mortals felt around her.

"Diana!" The Bat yelled at her. "Get up! The grass, it's taking the power from you and transferring it to the snake!"  
"Of course…" The goddess scoffed and rolled over before the monster dived down, hoping to feast on her body.

She jumped back up to her feet and reached for her weapons to face the enemy again, but the snake was gone. Diana turned around, noticing it sliding towards Kate. Kate, who was in no shape to fight this thing. Kate, who probably should have stayed in Gotham. Although the snake was fast, beating Wonder Woman and reaching the human first would be absurd. Batwoman watched the race, not moving. Even if the Amazon wouldn't reach her in time, Kate couldn't do anything to save herself. The snake was closer and closer. Diana leaped forward from the middle of the field and in a blink of an eye landed in front of Kate; facing the monster again. When the snake attacked again, Diana crossed her bracelets and an immense power wave threw the creature back. The Bat was also thrown back. The fight was over, at least for now. Everything was silent again. The snake was gone and they reached the forest; alive. Yet, there was something that was interrupting the silence. Something behind her.

"Kate?" Diana found the mortal leaning against a tree. "Are you alright?"  
"Mhm…" Batwoman looked up and smiled. "All good."  
"We should hurry up. I...I don't want to be out here longer than we have to."  
"Why did it stop attacking?" Kate could feel the Amazon's eyes piercing through her. She knew her voice quivered, but Diana chose to ignore it.  
"Because it wasn't meant to kill the intruders."  
"Certainly wasn't meant for warm welcomes either." The redhead retorted.  
"No, Kate...it wasn't." The Bat didn't miss the uncertainty in Wonder Woman's eyes. "It was meant to force them all into the forest."  
"Isn't that just great…"

Diana's last word were haunting Kate's mind. That monster was already horrifying enough, she didn't want to know what was waiting for them between the trees. Batwoman wiped the left side of her batsuit, cleaning the dirt and blood. Kate could feel it. The wooden stick piercing through her skin right after Diana threw her to the ground. The wound was bleeding a lot under the suit and there was nothing to do to stop it. Kate considered telling Diana, but she knew that they needed to focus to get through this situation. The cold was getting worse and Batwoman was sure that she didn't have a lot of time. And she couldn't let the Amazon worry about her, not when they were trapped in the middle of a magic forest. However, there was something Kate wanted to do. She grabbed the Amazon and pushed her against the nearest tree.

"Wha-" The goddess didn't get a chance to finish her question. Kate closed the distance between them, kissing Wonder Woman like it would be a last time she was allowed to do that.  
"You know…" The redhead leaned back, breathing heavily. "If we wouldn't make it out alive…"  
"Katherine Kane." Diana smiled, her palms framing the Bat's face. "I won't let anything hurt you. Ever. That's a promise." She pulled the mortal into another kiss, before continuing walking deeper into the woods.

Kate felt terrible. It was painfully obvious that in few minutes, she will slow Diana down. There was a lot the young heroine was willing to suffer through, but costing the goddess her life wasn't on the list. From the sides of the road, thick purple fog started filling the air around them. It wasn't poisonous, but it completely denied any vision. Panic joined all the other unwelcome feelings in Kate's mind. The Amazon didn't hesitate, she knew why the fog was there, to separate them. To make the hunt more fun. She grabbed the golden lasso and tied it around her hand. Her plan was almost bulletproof. Almost. As soon as Diana turned around to tie the lasso around Kate, the redhead took a step back. She knew the magical powers of the item. She knew she wouldn't be able to lie.

"Can we-uh...can we use something else?" Kate could barely recognize her own voice.  
"Afraid of the truth?"  
"I…" The Bat clenched her jaw. "I'd prefer...not to...say anything stupid…"  
"I won't ask any questions." It was a simple promise, but Kate knew Diana won't break it.  
"Hm…" She nodded. As soon as the lasso touched her body, it began to glow.  
"Kate?" The Amazon sounded worried. Her fingers skated across Batwoman's cheeks. "You are freezing."  
"I-I am just a bit cold." She answered. "Diana, why can't you fly here?"  
"I never said I can't. It just wouldn't be safe." Wonder Woman explained.

Her brown eyes were slowly moving around Kate's body. She tried to figure out what was wrong, but the low visibility and uncomfortable silence of the forest were too distracting. The goddess was well aware that she could just ask. Kate would be forced to tell her the truth, but Diana quickly decided that it was not worth the risk. She tangled the lasso between her fingers and walked ahead. Batwoman limped behind the Amazon, trying her best to keep the pace. They didn't know for how long they walked into the fog. Kate assumed that Diana knew where she was going. However, that wasn't the case. Princess was leading them further and further into the forest. Every unusual sound made them stop and wait. Every unusual sound gave Kate a chance to catch up with her friend. She knew it won't take long now. Her palm pressed against the wound and the Bat had to fight hard to not cry out in pain. She looked at her blood covered fingers, only to find out, that they weren't red. Her blood was black, pouring down from the open wound. Kate felt her knees buckle, the overwhelming panic gaining a control of her mind. Her gaze dropped to the ground. Then they heard the resident of the forest. Strange, high pitched shriek echoed through the forest, followed by sound of very heavy footsteps. The sound was stuck in Kate's head. She couldn't stop it from repeating over and over again. There was a small puddle of blood on the ground under her. Closer the enemy got, faster the blood was coming out. Kate fell to the ground when the monster shrieked again. Lasso around her waist pulled Diana backwards. Before the redhead could make any attempt to cover her injuries, the Amazon untangled her weapon.

"What happened, Kate?" She asked, removing the lasso from her reach.  
"I just...I tripped." Batwoman smiled weakly. "We have to go, Diana." Her eyes flew wide open when she started recognizing a silhouette of something massive behind them. "Just run…"  
"Good idea." Wonder Woman agreed. "Let's get you up."

Strong arms locked around the Bat, helping her back to her feet. Diana was about to run when she noticed the black sticky goo on her armor. Her eyes followed the trail, back to the lasso, back to the ground, back to Kate. It took her less than a second to understand what was happening. She had a choice now. Diana could probably defeat Zatanna's defense mechanisms, but with Batwoman being hurt it was a risk. Another shriek sounded through the forest. In the next few moments, the Amazon had to decide. The monster was almost there and with this rate, Kate would bleed out in minutes.

"Go…" The redhead whispered, her strength leaving her body.  
"Kate, I-I need you to hold on. I will get you out of here. Can you hear me?" Diana scooped the dying mortal up.  
"You-you-can't fly…"  
"Yes, but I can run." The goddess deadpanned.

The rest was more of a blur for Kate. Although before Wonder Woman started running, the Bat managed to peak across her shoulder. Anyone who was able to create the monster behind them had to be absolutely terrifying. It was at least six times Diana's size, huge red eyes that were looking directly at her. The fog was still blocking the full view, but the Gotham hero assumed she should be thankful for that. It shrieked again, but the noise and the creature was left far behind them. Kate couldn't help but wonder why didn't they just run through in the first place. It would've probably saved them time, maybe even her life. What the human didn't know was how dedicated the Amazon was to protecting her. They were out of the forest and right in front of the mansion. Diana put Kate down, ripping the suit and examining the injury. It was magic, she knew that much. Batwoman's muscles were going stiff and she could barely move. There was more blood pouring out of her mouth. The Princess stood up realizing that there was only one person who could help them now.

"ZATARA!"


	9. Chapter 9

Diana screamed for several seconds, but the only answer she got was the echo of her own voice. Looking down at Kate was hard, the goddess pressed her palm against the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. She knew it was pointless. This was no ordinary injury and if it could be treated like one, Zatara's defense mechanism could be considered a failure. The blood pouring out of Batwoman's body was black a boiling hot, however since it didn't burn the mortal, Diana came to a horrifying realization. This whole thing was calculated. It was a one huge trap, forcing any intruder to run directly towards the mansion while being hunted by monsters. But there was a new level of cruelty in Shadowcrest protections. Wonder Woman visited this place plenty of times and usually the purpose of the traps was to catch the unwanted guests. Right now, Princess of Themyscira was forced to watch her partner bleed out and she couldn't even touch the wound without being exposed to the magic. Kate coughed and the sticky black goo covered her lips. Diana's mind was racing fast, going over her options. When she was about to pick up the redhead into her arms, the fog appeared on the edge of the forest. The Amazon could feel the monster coming closer and closer.

"hgounE!" Strong voice was carried by the wind through the whole area. Before Diana could react, all of Kate's blood turned red again and quickly disappeared back into her body. Even the wound was nowhere to be found.  
"Kate?" Wonder Woman didn't feel like a hero now. She just stood there, staring at her mortal companion.  
"I-I am alright…" The redhead jumped up to her feet. "Whatever you did worked. I-uh-thank you, Diana."  
"I…" She looked into the wide green eyes. "I didn't do anything, Kate…" Her voice was unusually quiet.  
"Well...you got me to safety?" Batwoman offered with smile, but it wasn't successful.  
"That wouldn't be needed if I didn't bring you with me."

This was like a cold shower for the Bat. It was obvious that she wasn't exactly helpful and Diana was clearly regretting her decision. Something between them shifted and Kate was counting with the Themyscira trip less and less. Everything was silent for a moment and then the door to the mansion opened.

"The Princess of Themyscira and a Batwoman. What an honor." It was the same voice that stopped all this madness. Zatanna Zatara was slowly walking towards the couple.  
"Is this all necessary?" Diana waved her arms around.  
"Absolutely." The magician nodded. "I apologize for not stopping it earlier, but you were never in any real danger." She smiled at the redhead.  
"Warning would be appreciated next time." Kate shrugged.  
"That'd be a little counterproductive, don't you think?" Zatanna retorted.  
"We could use your help, Zatara." Wonder Woman changed the topic. Sooner they get out of there, sooner she can stop thinking about what she put Kate through today.  
"I am a little bit busy right now." The magician seemed distracted. Diana narrowed her eyes, waiting for an explanation. She wasn't used to being refused. "I-uh-I think I could make time?" Zatanna didn't want to make the goddess angry and rethinking her answer was one of her options to save herself.  
"It won't take long, we just need to...store some magic items here for a moment." Batwoman explained.  
"You could have said so right away." Zatara pouted.  
"You could have put the warning there." Kate deadpanned.  
"I will get the items from the jet." Small smile settled on Diana's lip before she flew off.

Clear air was helping the Bat stay calm. It was just a moment since the Amazon left and Kate already couldn't wait for her to get back. Being in Zatanna's presence and the almost tangible traces of magic surrounding them were heavily affecting the situation. Needless to say, the redhead felt safer with Diana around; especially at this place. Her prayers were answered shortly, when Wonder Woman landed next to them, holding the Green Bell of Uthool in one hand and Red Jar of Calythos in the other. That could only mean that she will have to go twice. The redhead exhaled, tilting her head curiously as she watch the magician interact with Diana. Kate was still confused about what does this all meant for her and the Amazon, but it was clear that it wasn't the best time to ask. Her green eyes were cautiously following every movement of the goddess. Zatara mumbled few words and both items disappeared. Diana turned around, she seemed more relaxed, but Batwoman still kept her distance. Last thing Kate wanted, was to discuss her personal life in front of someone else. The dark massive mansion gained all of her attention. It was creeping her out and the fact that Zatanna lived there was beyond the Bat's understanding. Couple of deep breaths made her dizzy and before she could prevent it, her knees buckled and Kate stumbled backwards. It was becoming a rule that Diana's arms were around her whenever she lost balance and this time was no different. Although the Amazon pulled away sooner than the mortal liked.

"So…" Zatanna interrupted. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"  
"I think that's all." Wonder Woman smirked, entertained by Zatara's overly polite behavior. However it made sense, her magic left the Princess staring in horror as Kate was bleeding out.

Anything that Diana might wanted to add was cut off by a deafening explosion. Something landed right in the middle of the forest. Zatanna was shocked and it took her a moment before she started chanting words. If Kate couldn't feel the magic energy resonating around them it would sound like a bunch of nonsense to her. Somehow it amazed her and for a split second, Kate wished the energy was visible. She could really feel the air around her vibrating. Diana watched her in awe. Of course she saw the human speechless several times, but this was something else. This reminded her of the first time Kate eyes landed at her at the gala. Her mortal companion was astounded by the intensity of Zatanna's powers. Something in the Amazon snapped and her eyes closed. It was tearing her apart. She picked Kate for a reason. She didn't want to publicly date the Gotham hero, that would be a tremendous hazard with the redhead's secret identity. Kate Kane was the only choice for her, yet it wasn't working out the way Diana wanted. For the first time in several centuries, Wonder Woman was afraid she might have made a wrong decision.

"Diana?" The Bat found her partner staring at her without saying a word, "Are you alright?"  
"Are you?" She whispered back, her gaze carefully moving up and down Batwoman's body, checking for any other injuries.  
"I-" Gotham hero froze as the unnatural, loud shriek echoed through the forest.  
"If you want to leave, now would be the best time." Zatanna looked at them, waiting for an indication of what was the next step for her visitors.  
"I will help...but you-" The Amazon looked at the redhead, "You won't get involved."  
"Excuse me?" Kate felt the anger rising inside her. She took a few steps closer to the goddess and continued with low and firm voice, "How dare you-"  
"I brought you here, it's my responsibility to make sure you are safe." This wasn't the time for this discussion. Diana was well aware that her answer probably made the mortal even more enraged, however, it would be easier to deal with grumpy Batwoman than dealing with losing her.  
"Well…" Kate always considered her reactions; normally. Another shriek came from the forest, almost drowning the next words leaving her mouth, "Tremendous job, so far…"

The gasp that flew out of Diana's mouth was the only thing Kate could focus on. She fucked up. Next few moments were a blur for her. Strong arm locked around her waist and before Kate could say anything, she was standing in Wonder Woman's jet. Pair of brown eyes was burning a hole into her, but they both stayed silent. The Bat took a deep breath and started gathering the courage to apologise, but the princess didn't wait. She took a couple of steps back with the same friendly smile that everyone was used to, but Kate could tell it wasn't honest. Tears flooded her eyes as Diana jumped out of the jet and the door closed behind her. The lock clicked and the engines started. In a split second, Batwoman jumped towards the door, her eyes wide in horror as she looked through the small glass window. Wonder Woman seemed confused by her reaction, but it didn't last for long. Blast of energy threw the Amazon out of Kate's field of view. The jet took off and Shadowcrest became just a dot in a distance. There was no point in trying to escape or change the course. Diana sent her back to Gotham and hoping that she would come to the city after dealing with whatever was attacking Zatanna's mansion would be foolish. She sat down in the pilot seat and let the tears race down her cheeks. 

* * *

It was a week since Batwoman returned to Gotham. However Kate Kane didn't exactly return with her. She was standing at the top of the Kane tower, wind was roughly tugging at her cape and the long red hair. No matter how much the Bat tried, covering the fact that she missed the Amazon was impossible.

"Hey-uh...want some company?" Tim's voice interrupted the otherwise loud sounds of the city.  
"I guess…" She shrugged and sunk down to sit on the edge of the roof.  
"So, do you want to tell us what happened?" He asked and sat down next to her.  
"Us?"  
" _You thought I wouldn't be worried?"_ Barbara's voice came through the comms.  
"No…" Kate scoffed, "I don't-well-I might have said something…"  
" _You might have said something that made Wonder Woman so mad, that she threw you into the jet and sent you home?"  
_ "You have to admit, it sounds a little...ridiculous?" Tim smirked.  
" _Right...come on, Kate. We all kno-"_ The comms were cut off for a brief moment. " _Sorry, I-uh-dropped something. We all know sometimes you have no filter."  
_ "Kate?"  
"I-I didn't mean it, you know...just the situation, she practically ordered me to stay away from the fight." The redhead started, ignoring their comments. "But, I have never felt more alive than in her arms...that is ridiculous." Her eyes were glued to the horizon, but Tim noticed the tears coming from underneath the mask.  
"Never?"  
"Not even with Maggie." Kate shook her head. "I don't-I mean, before the jet took off, I saw her got him by some weird energy blast. I-I couldn't-" Her voice started breaking and sobs were fighting their way out of her throat. "I couldn't see if she was alright."  
" _Something tells me she survived that. It's Wonder Woman after all."_ Barbara assured her with a slight chuckle.  
"Wish I could just go back...before I said anything...before we even went to that damn magic land." She wiped the tears from her face and continued. "But it doesn't matter anymore." Kate stood up, her voice gaining a different tone.

Tim and Barbara knew this change. That was the time when Kate Kane disappeared and Batwoman was all that was left. Even she wasn't the same, she was colder and everyone noticed; especially the bad guys. The pause in the conversation was longer than usual. The redhead didn't plan on saying anything else about the time at the mansion.

" _Tim can you-uh-come back here?"  
_ "Is something wrong?" Kate immediately recognized the slight discomfort in Barbara's voice.  
" _No, I just...need him back here for a second…"  
_ "Alright." He smiled and turned away to face the clock tower. "If you would need anything Kate...let us know."

After Robin left, Batwoman was left alone again. She closed her eyes and focused on Gotham. Several sirens were going off in multiple places around the city. That was a good thing for her. It meant more work and less thinking about anything she might feel. Faint noise of something landing behind Kate gained her attention.

"How did you know where to find me?"  
"Oracle…" Diana's voice was a music to her ears.  
"How much of that did you hear?" Kate couldn't help, but smile.  
"Enough." The Amazon chuckled and closed the distance between them, but not completely.  
"I…"  
"Stop."  
"Alright…" The redhead raised an eyebrow and waited. The goddess leaned closer, resting her forehead against Kate's. Strong fingers unintentionally tangling in the red hair. Both of them had a problem with keeping their breathing and heart rate in check.  
"We can't…" Diana's voice quivered. "I can't…" Batwoman pulled away, her mouth slightly open, trying to prevent the overwhelming urge to cry. "I can't protect you, Kate." The Amazon let her hand slide from Kate's hair to her cheek, her thumb gently wiping off some of the tears. "I failed to do that right from the beginning."

That was it. The Bat was quite sure that Diana changed her mind, but when she finally heard it after a week of speculating, her heart broke. She opened her mouth, hoping to stop the princess from leaving.

"D-Diana…" Kate sobbed, not knowing what to say next. She was staring into her brown eyes, silently begging Wonder Woman for help; unfortunately, she stayed quiet. "I didn't mean it...I didn't…" The tears weren't under her control anymore. "D-don't leave...I-please-don't…" The goddess turned around, the pain of her decision was written all over her face. She walked to the edge of the roof and Batwoman's knees hit the ground. She lost what was supposed to be her everything so quickly and the intensity of the hollow feeling was unexpected. Diana didn't look at her again, knowing well that even a slightest reminder of how much she just hurt the Bat would diminish her resolve.  
"I am doing this to keep you safe." The goddess struggled to say those words. She was unsure about her decision, but remembering Kate's snarky remark was good enough reminder of why she was doing this. Wonder Woman didn't wait for anything else. Wind and the Bat's voice screaming her name were the last sounds the Amazon heard before leaving Gotham far behind her.


	10. NOT A CHAPTER

Hey guys! Long time without any updates again so I am here to explain... I will not continue any of the DC Legacy stories for now. I appreciate all of the kudos/comments, really all the feedback, it was unexpected and it got me through a lot, but unfortunately something managed to ruin this for me anyway. I will continue updating the AU's and I will be working on some original content (my scifi book) that may or may not be uploaded later on. Also since life is funny and I was unwillingly stripped of the toxic people in my life, I decided to not end Legacy completely, but to rewrite it, which means that in future there will be more updates with hopefully even better quality. I am also considering starting few ff based on the choose your own adventure books (DC related) and maybe expanding to other fandoms.

If anyone would want to beta read, no matter if the AU's, Legacy reboot, book that I work on or the choose your own adventure books, or if anyone would just want to talk, feel free to contact me:  
Twitter - Strange_Scarlet  
Tumblr - TheBorderline-SS  
Facebook - emptynutellaqq

So again, I want to thank you all for reading and everything, I hope that you will enjoy the other stories too and I hope you'll be here for the Legacy return! ;)


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